NDP MPs disciplined for long-gun registry vote

Two Thunder Bay-area New Democratic PartyMPs have been punished for voting in favour of the abolition of the long-gun registry.

Thunder Bay-Superior North MPBruce Hyerand Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Raffertywill not be allowed to make statements or ask questions in the Commons chamber.

They were also removed from their critics' roles.

The term of their discipline is unknown but Rafferty said it will lastuntil the gun registry issue has been dealt with in Parliament.

The two went against the NDP's official position and voted with the government this week during the second reading of the bill to abolish the controversial long-gun registry.

Jack Harris, the NDP's justice critic, said Rafferty and Hyer had been warned they would suffer "the consequences" if they broke ranks.

Harris said the two members were sanctioned by NDP Interim Leader Nycole Turmel. Dennis Bevington, the NDP member for the Western Arctic in the Northwest Territories, abstained from voting and Nathan Cullen, who is a candidate for the NDP leadership, left the house before the vote.

Turmel did not indicate Wednesday if the party line would be enforced more rigidly when the long-gun registry comes to a final vote.

Instead, she said there is more work to be done in committee and that the party caucus is unanimous in believing the registry's data should be made available to provinces that want to set up their own registry.