MONTREAL — The federal government says it would welcome proposals from any province wishing to set up its own long-gun registry if the Canadian program is eventually abolished.

Ottawa was reacting to a report that the Quebec government has a so-called "Plan B" -- to set up its own registry -- if the federal program is scrapped.

A spokesman for federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says Quebec or any other province is free to move forward with plans within its jurisdiction.

But it's unclear what kind of role Ottawa would play -- if any -- in helping provinces set up their own provincial registries.

Toews' office could not immediately say whether the feds would help set up such provincial programs, by sharing records for instance.

The Conservatives have long promised to abolish the program, which they call ineffective and wasteful.

Their plans have met the stiffest resistance in Quebec, which became a hotbed of the gun-control movement after the massacre of 14 women at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique in 1989.

Supporters of the registry say it saves lives, particularly in reducing the use of firearms in domestic disputes, suicides and attacks against police.