NEWS RELEASE

June 30, 2003                                                                                                 For Immediate Release

REPORT PROVES GUN REGISTRY PRICE TAG UP AT LEAST ANOTHER QUARTER BILLION

“Wayne Easter breaking promise to implement AG’s recommendations - Parliament still in the dark.”

 Ottawa – Today, Garry Breitkreuz, Official Opposition Critic for Firearms and Property Rights, released a preliminary analysis of firearms compliance costs by the Library of Parliament [See Note #1] that will add another quarter billion dollars to the gun registry price tag.  “The government has repeatedly refused to provide Parliament with its actual and projected enforcement costs and compliance costs as recommended in the Auditor General’s report,” said Breitkreuz.  “On March 24th, we released the Library’s estimate of enforcement costs [See Note #2], and today we’re releasing its first of many reports estimating compliance costs.  If the Research Branch of the Library of Parliament can produce these estimates in just a few weeks, why can’t the Liberal government with all their vast resources?” asked Breitkreuz. 

The Parliamentary Research Branch of the Library of Parliament’s 17-page report titled: “COMPLIANCE COSTS OF FIREARMS LICENCES: PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES,” summarized their findings on Page 17: “a compliance cost range of $170 to $260 for a PAL [Possession and Acquisition Licence] application” and “a compliance cost range of $120 to $210 for a POL [Possession Only Licence] application.”  On April 12, 2003, the Department of Justice reported, in response to one of Breitkreuz’s Access to Information Act requests, that the Firearms Centre had issued 565,064 PALs and 1,305,841 POLs [See Note #3]. 

 

Using the estimates in the Library of Parliament’s report, the licencing compliance costs would be:

 

   565,064 PALs x $170 to $260                               = $  96,060,880 to $146,916,640

1,305,841 POLs. x $120 to $210                              = $156,700,920 to $274,226,610

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         _____________________________________________________________________                           _________________________________________________________________

 

TOTAL COMPLIANCE COSTS                               = $252,761,808 to $421,143,250

 

“It’s clear from this first report that firearms licencing compliance costs alone will cost firearm owners between a quarter and a half-a-billion dollars, and all these licences have to be renewed every five years,” reported Breitkreuz.  And as the report states, this estimate does not include the licencing fees and cost of passing the firearms safety course.  When the Library finishes their reports on compliance costs for registering 6 million firearms [See Note #4], 420,000 firearms transfers [See Note #5], firearms dealer costs, registration of tens of thousands of guns that American hunters bring into Canada each year (See Note #6), and the cost to police forces for destroying tens of thousands of guns, the compliance costs alone will easily exceed another billion dollars.”

The Auditor General’s December 2002 Report identified two “major additional costs” that the Liberal government failed to report to Parliament,” said Breitkreuz.  “On several occasions, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon promised Parliament would implement all of the Auditor General’s recommendations.  On March 26, 2003, [Hansard page 6441 – See Note #7], Solicitor General Wayne Easter broke that promise by refusing to answer Breitkreuz’s written question.  “Since Wayne Easter took over the gun registry he has broken Cauchon’s promise to implement all the Auditor General’s recommendations and he’s still keeping Parliament in the dark about the true costs of the gun registry.  This means that he doesn’t want taxpayers to know either.  Clearly, the costs of the gun registry make this an issue of government out of control – not gun control.” concluded Breitkreuz.

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SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

 

NOTE #1: June 16, 2003 - COMPLIANCE COSTS OF FIREARMS LICENCES: PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES - Parliamentary Research Branch, Library of Parliament.

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/LofP-june16-2003.doc

 

NOTE #2: March 24, 2003 - News Release - ENFORCING THE FIREARMS ACT COULD EASILY COST ANOTHER BILLION DOLLARS! http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns81.htm

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/march20,2003.doc

 

NOTE #3: April 12, 2003 - Number of Valid Firearms Licences Issued = 1,930,844.

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/FirearmsLicencesbyProv-2003-04-12.xls

  

NOTE #4: April 15, 2003 - NUMBER OF GUNS REGISTERED = 6,019,925.

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/FirearmsRegistered-2003-04-15.xls

  

NOTE #5: May 26, 2003 - NUMBER OF FIREARMS TRANSFERED TO INDIVIDUALS = 422,821.

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/FirearmsTransfers-2003-05-26.xls

 

NOTE #6: Dec 2, 2002 - NUMBER OF FOREIGN FIREARMS GOV’T HAS LOST TRACK OF = 157,339.

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns76.htm

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/GunControl51.htm

NOTE #7: May 26, 2003 -- Easter admits government "does not monitor" major additional gun registry costs as recommended in Auditor General's report

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/questions/may-26-2003written.htm