NEWS RELEASE
April
28, 2004
For
Immediate Release
COMPARISON OF TWO REPORTS REVEALS LIBERALS COVER-UP AND DISHONESTY
“Liberals
ignore the benefits of gun ownership in their cost-benefit analysis of gun
registry.”
Ottawa –
Garry Breitkreuz, Official Opposition Critic for Firearms and Property Rights,
released two reports today that expose the Liberal government’s dishonesty
when conducting cost-benefit analyses of its firearms program.
“For the last ten years, Liberal’s have refused to include the
long list of benefits of legal gun ownership in their cost-benefit analyses as
required by Cabinet-approved Treasury Board regulatory policies,” reported
Breitkreuz. “They even
declared their past cost-benefit analysis a Cabinet secret. Their
most recent proposals were revealed in a report prepared for the Canada Firearms
Centre by HBL Decision Economics Inc. It
proves the Liberals are still playing politics with the firearms file.
Why would they not want to be honest and forthright in their own internal
assessment of the value of gun ownership?”
The
first report Breitkreuz was referring to was a 47-page study prepared by the
Research Branch of the Library of Parliament titled: “The Benefits of
Firearms Ownership” (see Supporting Documentation attached).
The second report is a 23-page proposal obtained by access to information
titled: “Issues and Options for Performance Measurement, Management and
Reporting in the Canadian Firearms Program.”
“The
government’s feeble response to my Order Paper Question Q-248 last October
prompted me to ask the Parliamentary Research Branch to undertake a study of the
benefits of gun ownership in Canada. The
Library of Parliament has done a great service for all Parliamentarians by doing
the first study of its kind in Canada,” commended Breitkreuz.
Here are just a
few of the benefits of firearms ownership addressed in the Library report that
the Liberals refuse to acknowledge or even study:
· Individual Benefits including the Recreational Benefits and the Self-protective Uses of Firearms;
· Societal Benefits including the Deterrent Effect on Crime of Civilian Gun Ownership; Protecting Rights, Freedoms and Democracy; Firearms and Canada’s History, Heritage and Culture; Character Development; and
· Economic Benefits including Hunting, Wildlife Management, Sport Shooting, Tourism, Movie and Television Productions and Historical Re-enactments.
“By deceiving
Canadians and covering up the benefits of firearms ownership, the Liberals have
spent the last decade perverting law enforcement and justice in Canada. They have poured more than a billion dollars down a big black
hole called the gun registry rather than targeting the root causes of violence
in our society,” declared Breitkreuz. “Just
think how your billions could have been spent more wisely: putting more police
on our streets and highways; keeping dangerous offenders in jail where they
should be or making sure known criminals don’t get into our country and making
sure they stay deported when we kick criminals out.
For the last ten years, Paul Martin sat at the Cabinet table for each
of these decisions, and he wrote every cheque for this boondoggle.
Are Paul Martin’s Liberals fit to govern?
I don’t think so,” concluded Breitkreuz.
-30-
SUPPORTING
DOCUMENTATION
LIBRARY
OF PARLIAMENT REPORT: “THE BENEFITS OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP”
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/Librarystudy-april2-2004.doc
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO BREITKREUZ’S ORDER PAPER QUESTION Q-248
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/Article193.htm
THE
HILL TIMES - GUN
REGISTRY HAS COST RURAL CANADIANS DEARLY
Rural
Canadians who use firearms have take a big hit, right in their pocket books
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/Article317.htm
GOVERNMENT’S
FAILURE TO ASSESS THE FULL COSTS OF THE FIREARMS PROGRAM
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/guncontrol.htm
NOTE: More documentation is available on Garry’s website: www.garrybreitkreuz.com