Ex-justice minister Martin Cauchon blasts Trudeau over gun registry

OTTAWA – Liberal leadership front-runner Justin Trudeau is coming under fire from a former Liberal justice minister over his claim that the long-gun registry was a failure.

Martin Cauchon, who is still pondering whether to run for the leadership himself, says candidates should have the backbone to stand up for Liberal principles and values.

And he says the controversial registry, created by the government of Jean Chretien, is an important Liberal value.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government killed the registry and destroyed all the data in it — except in Quebec, where the provincial government has gone to court to prevent destruction of the records.

Cauchon acknowledges there were some problems getting the registry off the ground initially, but it was working well by the time Harper scrapped it.

He says he believes a Liberal government should re-create a registry for shot guns and rifles.