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OTTAWA — The Conservative government was pushing for the speedy — and illegal —destruction of long-gun registry records even as it was promising the information commissioner it would preserve the data, a new court affidavit alleges.

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The duplicity alleged in the Federal Court filing by investigator Neil O’Brien goes right up to the Prime Minister’s Office, and helps sets the stage for a constitutional challenge.

Federal information commissioner Suzanne Legault is seeking a court order to preserve any remaining records from the now-defunct long gun registry, part of a wider court challenge contesting the RCMP’s handling of records under the Access to Information Act.

The dispute goes back to April 2012 when the Conservative government had passed a law ending the registry, leaving in Legault’s hands an unresolved complaint about access to registry records.

On April 13, 2012, Legault informed then-public safety minister Vic Toews and the RCMP that she was investigating, and that all documents had to be preserved pending the outcome.