An area hunting outfitter says that a new gun control bill tabled by the Liberal government won鈥檛 affect his business 鈥攐r improve public safety. The wide-ranging bill requires that gun-sellers keep at least 20 years of sales records and says that buyers of shotguns and rifles must present a license when purchasing a gun.

But Paul Hilliard, owner of Woods N鈥� Water 鈥� a hunting and fishing outfitter in 亚洲天堂 Lake 鈥� told the Lakes District 亚洲天堂 that provisions in the gun bill won鈥檛 affect his operations because he already practices rigorous record-keeping and checks licences.

Hilliard said his customers are legitimate gun-owners and that violent criminals would buy their firearms on the black market. 鈥淭he people that I deal with are law-abiding citizens,鈥� he said.

The hunting outfitter said he ensures that gun-buyers hold a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) when they purchase a firearm, and that he enters a record of every sale into his computer, along with the buyer鈥檚 name, PAL number and the gun鈥檚 serial number.

Bill C-71, which was tabled in Parliament on March 20 by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, is intended to help police investigate gun-related crimes, but the records would be the property of gun-sellers 鈥� not a government registry 鈥� and police would need a warrant to access them.

Provisions in the bill also include roll-backs on some automatic authorizations that allow for the transport of restricted firearms.

The bill comes on the heels of a mass shooting that killed 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, the latest in a series of school massacres in the United States. But Hilliard said that the legislation misses its target and won鈥檛 improve public safety.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no issue with the honest gun-owner right now,鈥� he said, arguing that criminals tend to buy their firearms on the black market.

鈥淚f somebody鈥檚 pissed off at a school and wants to grab a gun and shoot somebody, they鈥檙e not coming here to get the gun,鈥� he said, adding that the process for getting a license takes months and involves extensive background checks.

The new legislation would expand these background checks, with personal history questions potentially covering the whole lifetime of the buyer, instead of the current five years before a license application.

The government unveiled the bill as part of a larger effort involving more than $327 million in spending over five years against criminal gun and gang activity.