Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.
Yorkton-Melville
News Release

For Immediate Delivery

March 17, 1999

FIREARMS REGISTRY ISSUES LICENCE WITH SOMEONE ELSE’S PICTURE

"Why is the Minister putting political priorities ahead of each citizen’s Charter right to privacy?"

Ottawa – Today in the House of Commons, Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, exposed a colossal breech of privacy and shot another hole in the credibility of the Liberal’s two hundred million dollar gun registry. "The Department of Justice has bungled things so badly, they can’t even get the right picture on the right licence." Breitkreuz was commenting on a complaint being filed with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada by Robert Soltis of Abbotsford, BC. Soltis is upset by the fact that when his new Firearms Licence arrived on March 9th, it was not his photograph on the photo-identification. "Maybe the Justice Department should have consulted with the provinces that issue millions of photo-IDs on drivers licences and health cards without ever making a mistake like this," suggested Breitkreuz.

Here’s the exchange as it went in the House today:

Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton—Melville, Ref.): "Mr. Speaker, last week when I accused the government of bureaucratic bungling and wasting $200 million, the minister's mouthpiece said, "The firearms registry was operating very effectively". So effectively that a firearms owner in B.C. got his new firearms licence and was shocked to find someone else's picture on it. How would the justice minister like it if her face showed up on someone else's firearms licence?"

Hon. Anne McLellan (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.): "Mr. Speaker, our firearms registry system is working quite well, thank you very much. Let me inform the House that we have since September 1 received and answered over 160,000 phone calls, mailed over 250,000 forms to individuals, processed 40,000 applications for licences and registration, issued over 17,000 registration certificate numbers and issued over 12,000 photo ID licences."

"Begging the question, ‘But how many of the 12,000 licences issued have the right picture on them?’ It was obvious from the Minister’ flippant attitude that she didn’t take seriously this violation of an individual’s Charter guaranteed right to privacy," said Breitkreuz. "In 1998, her Department ignored 40 recommendations by the Privacy Commissioner regarding the forms being used by the Canadian Firearms Registry. The Minister also ignored the 1997 warnings by the Privacy Commissioner that once the regulations were passed, it would be ‘far too late to provide legal protection’ for the privacy of Canadians. This incident and the Minister’s non-response today prove the Privacy Commissioner was right. Why is the Minister putting Liberal political priorities ahead of each Canadian’s Charter right to privacy?" asked Breitkreuz.

-30-

The Office of Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.

Yorkton: (306) 782-3309
Ottawa: (613) 992-4394