OTTAWA -- The Supreme Court of Canada is set to rule today on whether Quebec can maintain data on gun owners that was part of the now defunct federal gun registry.
The Harper government abolished the registry for long guns in 2011 as part of a long-standing campaign promise.
The federal government ordered the provinces to destroy all the data they collected for the registry, something the Quebec government challenged in the courts.
The issue of firearm registration is a political hot potato for the Harper Conservatives, who see rural long-gun gunowners as a core political base.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently created a stir when he said guns provide "a certain level of security" to rural residents who live far from police stations.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard were among those who criticized Harper, who later said he didn't mean to imply that Canadians were entitled to take the law into their hands.
