The shootings at Dawson College in Montreal last Wednesday have provided ammunition for challenges to the Tory government's agenda when Parliament reopens Monday.

The senseless shootings that killed 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa and wounded more than a dozen others have reopened debate over Canada's gun laws and the minority Conservative government's plan to axe Canada's gun registry.

New Democrat child and youth critic Olivia Chow told CTV's Question Period on Sunday that her party will be calling for a ban on automatic and semiautomatic weapons when the House reconvenes.

"I hope that we could all work together and say that these high-powered guns do not belong on the streets," Chow said.

Liberal MP Marlene Jennings said Sunday that many in her party also want to see these weapons banned.

After the shooting, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his government's position on scrapping the gun registry hasn't changed, and pointed out that the registry didn't and couldn't have stopped the shootings at the college. The weapons used by 25-year-old Kimveer Gill were all legally registered.

"If one takes that logic, one should scrap all of the legislation about drinking and driving," Jennings said. "One should (also) scrap the legislation that establishes speed limits. One should scrap all of those laws because the laws cannot prevent entirely people going against the law and violating it."

Canada's involvement in Afghanistan, which has morphed from peacekeeping into active combat over the summer, is another hot issue, with the Bloc demanding an emergency debate when Parliament reconvenes and the NDP calling to bring troops home.

The Liberals division on the issue was exemplified during the Liberal leadership debate Sunday night, when leadership hopeful Stephane Dion criticized Michael Ignatieff for voting with the Tories to extend the mission in Afghanistan.

It's not just a wedge issue for the Liberals. As reinforcements from Valcartier, Que., head for battle, there are signs that opposition to Tory foreign policy is growing in Quebec.

"The Conservatives have an entire constellation of issues or stances they have that Quebecers are against," Strategic Counsel chairman Allan Gregg said Sunday.

Even if the other parties gang up on the Conservatives, it may not be possible to withdraw troops quickly.

Afghan troops "still have a long way to go," before they can stand alone," Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier said Sunday, "so it's going to be two to five years before we can do the change."

Harper's government has dug in its heels on the issue, linking political critics with the insurgents.

"The UN, NATO, every country on earth wants us to be there, except some members of the Liberal party, the Taliban and the NDP," said Tory House leader Rob Nicholson.

Harper will defend the mission in a speech to the UN on Thursday, and MPs will likely give a polite hearing to Afghan President Hamid Karzai when he addresses Parliament this Friday.

House Leader Ralph Goodale also told The Canadian Press on Friday that the Liberals intend to attack both Tory economic policy and Harper's claim to moral superiority.

The latter may prove to be a problem for Harper's government, syndicated radio host David Rutherford told CTV's Question Period on Sunday.

The party ran on ethics and accountability, and is now being sued in a dispute over allegedly reneging on a deal to compensate Allen Riddell after disqualifying him in his bid to seek the party nomination to run in the riding of Ottawa South.

Harper "has some issues at home at the constituency level," Rutherfold said.

Riddell sued after the Tories' national council voted to kick him out of the party and some party members are up in arms about candidates being disqualified without explanation.

But the Conservatives will likely hold their support in the west, Rutherford noted, because Harper has given them the kind of leadership that they wanted: "decisive, pragmatic, and non-flamboyant."

Nonetheless, the Tories could face a rocky ride for the many bills they expect to table this fall. The vote Tuesday on the softwood lumber agreement with the United States, especially, will get a cool reception from both the NDP and the Liberals, who say the agreement is a bad deal for Canada and indicates that Harper has gotten too cozy with the U.S. administration.

With a report by CTV's Roger Smith in Ottawa