The Prince Albert Police have used the long gun registry "several times, but not extensively," said Prince Albert Police Chief Dale McFee.

But police are finding it increasingly useful as time goes on, he added.

"Saskatchewan probably has more of an issue with knives than guns, but it would be a little bit naïve to think ... it wouldn't be useful for us," he said. "Big centres having those issues with firearms are using this system extensively."

He said the system is most often used in Prince Albert to get information when police respond to an incident at a home, such as a break and enter, as to what sort of weapons they might be faced with.

"You've got to know what could be potentially in that house," he said, adding the registry gives a good description of firearms so officers are prepared.

And while McFee said most gun owners are law-abiding citizens, they are sometimes victims of crime and their guns can end up in the wrong hands.

They have an ongoing push to use the registry more often, but that could turn out to be for naught if parliament approves a current private member's bill to dismantle the system.

The legislation is a top priority for local residents, said Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback, who was one of the MPs to second the bill to scrap the registry, which was written by Yorkton MP Garry Breitkreuz

Hoback described the long gun registry as ineffective, arguing it hasn't saved any lives while costing taxpayers more than $1 billion.

"What the long gun registry was doing wasn't prosecuting criminals, it was prosecuting lawful users and farmers," he said.

The bill passed second reading earlier this week by a vote of 164-137 with support from 12 NDP and eight Liberals members, as well as one independent.

The bill will next move to committee, he said, where it will be reviewed for a maximum of nine months before returning to the house for a vote on third reading and final passage.

Local hunters and First Nations organizations are also fully backing the bill.

Clifford Ray, president of the Saskatchewan Northern Trappers Association, said they are faced with "regulations after regulations" that paralyze their industry.

He said the registry hit young people who were looking to learn the trade the most, as they needed protection but were overwhelmed by regulations.

"We've done everything we could to make it possible for the young people trying to hunt as a trapper and utilize the guns," said Ray, a resident of Sandy Bay who works on the trap line his grandfather used to work on. "We just heard a coyote attacked a young lady in Nova Scotia and this is what we're faced with when we send young kids out on the trap lines to try to make a living."

New Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Guy Lonechild chose the subject for his first press release as leader, arguing the registry infringes on treaty rights.

tholloway@paherald.sk.ca