Listening to some conservatives you would think the case against Gun Registry was open and shut: it does no good at all full stop.

However is the evidence consistent with such a stance? Hardly. Judge for yourself.

The suicide rate in Canada peaked at 15.2 in 1978, dipped below 12 for the first time in 32 years in 2000 and reached a post 1970 low of 11.3 in 2004.

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/mh-sm/pdf/suicid_e.pdf" title="http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/mh-sm/pdf/suicid_e.pdf" target="_blank"http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/mh...

http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/rs/rep/2006/rr06 -2/rr06-2.pdf" title="http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/rs/rep/2006/rr06 -2/rr06-2.pdf" target="_blank"http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/p...

http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/perhlth66a.htm?sdi=suicide" title="http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/perhlth66a.htm?sdi=suicide" target="_blank"http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/c...

The average suicide rate per year between 1970 and 1976 was 13.35, between 1977 and 1983 it was 14.5, between 1984 and 1990 it was 13.1, between 1991 and 1997 it was 13 and between 1998 to 2004 it was 12.

The number of suicides by firearm in Canada dropped from a high of 1287 in 1978 to a low of 568 in 2004. http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/84F020 9XIE/2004000/t001_en.htm" title="http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/84F020 9XIE/2004000/t001_en.htm" target="_blank"http://www.statcan.ca/english... There was an average of 1033 fire arm suicides per year between 1970 and 1976, 1197 between 1977 and 1983, 1084 between 1984 and 1990, 970 between 1991 and 1997 and 682 between 1998 and 2004.

The number of accidental shooting deaths in Canada stood at 143 in 1971 and has generally declined since then; a low of 20 was reached in 2000. There was an average of 117 accidental shooting deaths per year between 1970 and 1976, 70 between 1977 and 1983, 62.3 between 1984 and 1990, 50.1 between 1991 and 1997 and 28.1 between 1998 and 2004. http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/rs/rep/2006/rr06 -2/rr06-2.pdf" title="http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/rs/rep/2006/rr06 -2/rr06-2.pdf" target="_blank"http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/p...

The rate of homicide in Canada peaked in 1975 at 3.03 per 100,000 and has dropped since then, reaching lower peaks in 1985 (2.72 per 100,000) and 1991 (2.69 per 100,000) while declining to 1.73 per 100,000 in 2003. The average murder rate between 1970 and 1976 was 2.52, between 1977 and 1983 it was 2.67, between 1984 and 1990 it was 2.41, between 1991 and 1997 it was 2.23 and between 1998 and 2004 it was 1.82. http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/85-002 -XIE/85-002-XIE2006006.pdf" title="http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/85-002 -XIE/85-002-XIE2006006.pdf" target="_blank"http://www.statcan.ca/english... The number of homicides as a percentage of the number attempted homicides has increased. http://www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca/NR/rdonlyres/4B12A796- B0C9-436C-9F64-840D3EBEE0 9F/0/CrimeStatisticsinCan ada2004.pdf" title="http://www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca/NR/rdonlyres/4B12A796- B0C9-436C-9F64-840D3EBEE0 9F/0/CrimeStatisticsinCan ada2004.pdf" target="_blank"http://www.hamiltonpolice.on.... In other words, the attempted homicide rate has fallen even further than the homicide rate.