Seven provinces and territories joined Alberta to argue the gun law infringes on the rights of provinces to regulate property and civil rights. Alberta says the registration and licensing of firearms used by farmers and hunters is an illegal incursion into provincial jurisdiction over property. The province says it will set up its own gun registry if the law is struck down. Canadian Alliance MPs say licensing and registering guns won't keep them out of the hands of criminals. Supporters of Bill C-68, including police and the families of women killed at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique in 1989, say the law is needed to help prevent further massacres.
Aboriginal groups say regulating guns violates aboriginal treaty rights.
Many experts expect the court to uphold Bill C-68 based on previous rulings by justices on the danger of guns as well as parliament's right to legislate in areas of provincial jurisdiction.