Pressure is mounting on Yukon MP Larry Bagnell over an upcoming vote to scrap the long-gun registry, and it's coming from both sides of the political fence.

On Monday, federal Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff told the Canadian Police Association the Liberal Party will oppose a Conservative private member's bill to get rid of the gun registry.

This put eight Liberal MPs, including Bagnell, in a difficult position, as they have twice voted in favour of Manitoba MP Candice Hoeppner's bill to kill the registry.

"I may not have a choice,” Bagnell said of what Ignatieff indicated would be a whipped vote. "I would certainly prefer that it was a free vote.”

Free votes, traditionally called by the governing party and adhered to by opposition parties, particularly for voting on private members bills, release MPs from the bonds of party positions.

But on this particular issue, Ignatieff is whipping his party – demanding Liberal MPs hold the line on the party's support for the registry.

Hoeppner's bill is currently before a legislative committee and is expected to be presented to the House of Commons for a third and final vote at the end of May or early June.

Adding to Bagnell's woes are a slate of Conservative radio ads released this morning targeting the Yukon riding, as well as those of Scott Andrews, Scott Sims, Anthony Rota, Keith Martin, Wayne Easter, Jean-Claude D'Amours and Todd Russell, all Liberal MPs who previously supported Hoeppner's bill.

Mimicking a news story, replete with dramatic intro-music, the "news anchor” exclaims:

"We have breaking news out of Ottawa. Plans to scrap the wasteful long-gun registry are now in doubt. The reason? Local member of Parliament (insert one of the eight MPs here) has been ordered by Liberal boss Michael Ignatieff to vote to keep the registry.”

The ads urge people to contact the MP's constituency office to voice their displeasure; however, according to Bagnell, his Whitehorse headquarters has yet to receive any calls.

While he was not the Yukon's MP when the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien installed a national gun registry, Bagnell has been roundly criticized for abstaining from a March 2003 vote that provided an additional $60 million to the registry.

Bagnell said he abstained because he would have been expelled from the Liberal caucus for voting against the financial top-up. But with the Liberals still enjoying a majority government, it was a whipped vote Bagnell could afford to miss.

Last April, Bagnell was one of a handful of Liberal MPs to oppose a motion to end registration amnesty for long gun owners.

Now faced with the prospect of toeing the party line, Bagnell is touting Liberal-proposed amendments to Hoeppner's bill that would decriminalize a first offence of failing to register a firearm and another that would waive any costs associated with registration.

"These radio ads are misleading,” said Bagnell. "They don't talk about our proposed amendments ... and they don't mention that the Conservative MPs whipped more often than any other party.”

In 2002, Auditor General Sheila Fraser reported the registry's cost had spiralled to 500 times the Liberals' original estimate of $2 million.