NEWS RELEASE

October 22, 2002                                                                                                              For Immediate Release

CAUCHON NIXES GENERAL AMNESTY AND DEFIES PM’S OBJECTIVE FOR GUN REGISTRY

“More than a million gun owners don’t have licences and millions and millions of guns still aren’t registered.”

Ottawa – Despite overwhelming evidence that the Liberal’s billion-dollar gun registry has failed, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon still refuses to issue a general amnesty that would allow more than a million gun owners to comply without fear of prosecution says Garry Breitkreuz, Official Opposition Critic for Firearms and Property Rights.  The Saskatchewan MP released a package of documents today including a copy of a letter he received from the Justice Minister that stated: “As outlined in my previous correspondence, the Government has no plans to introduce a general amnesty.”

Breitkreuz has been pressing the Justice Minister since February of this year to issue a general amnesty just like the Liberals did in 1978 and the Conservatives did in 1992 when major gun control legislation was passed by Parliament.  “While my party is still completely committed to getting rid of this totally useless gun registry, I am very concerned that the Justice Minister seems so intent on criminalizing so many citizens for no other reason that they don’t have a few pieces of paper from the government,” said Breitkreuz.  “It’s no wonder eight provinces and territories have opted out of the entire program.”

On April 22, 1999, Prime Minister Jean Chretien was quoted in the National Post that the goal of the government’s gun control program was to make “less guns available”.  Breitkreuz claims that Cauchon’s refusal to issue a general amnesty is just driving the guns underground thereby making them more available to real criminals.  One of the documents released shows the Justice Minister’s own handpicked User Group on Firearms agrees with Breitkreuz’s assessment.  “No legal means exist whereby these firearms may be registered to qualified owners.  The registration of these firearms is essential since many of them continue to out of the system since many years, or are being transferred to unqualified persons outside the firearms community,” states User Group Recommendation to the Minister #2000-04.

On November 21, 2001, the Justice Department’s website estimated there were 3.3 million gun owners in Canada.  As of October 5, 2002, the Justice Department’s website claimed to have issued firearms licences to just 1.9 million gun owners – leaving 1.4 million gun owners without a licence,” reported Breitkreuz.  “Other government documents show that more than 300,000 owners of registered, restricted and prohibited firearms have failed to obtain licences necessary to own the firearms already registered to them.”  Since 1995, the government has repeatedly refused to resolve the conflict between a comprehensive 1974 Statistics Canada survey and the government’s own import and export records that show there are now more than 16 million guns in Canada – not the 7.9 million the Justice Department currently claims.  The Justice Department’s website states as of October 5, 2002, there have been only 4.5 million guns registered.  Government documents show the cost of the registry will soon reach one billion dollars. 

“So many lives could have been saved with this money,” said Breitkreuz.  “The evidence is crystal clear.  Three Justice Minister’s have failed to keep their promises to Parliament on the gun registry.  The only thing they seem to be sticking to is their completely arbitrary deadline that is simply a political priority and has absolutely nothing to do with public safety.  They could restore a lot of goodwill if they just issued an amnesty until they get this mess sorted out.  There’s no need for millions of good Canadians to live in fear of prosecution while the Liberals main goal seems to be avoiding another political embarrassment,” concluded Breitkreuz.

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