| NOTE:
Versions of this story also appeared in the Edmonton Sun, Calgary Sun and
Winnipeg Sun.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa
Sun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AG SET TO GO BALLISTIC OVER GUN REGISTRY? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A potentially explosive audit could "put the nail in the coffin" of the controversial gun registry, according to a Conservative MP. Auditor General Sheila Fraser is slated to release a damning audit on the Canada Firearms Program next month and has cryptically hinted at a major finding. "In carrying out our audit of the Canada Firearms Centre, we noted a matter with significant implications for Parliament's control of public spending," she writes after a brief summary of eight chapters. Tory MP Garry Breitkreuz, a long-time critic of the gun registry, believes the AG will expose more numbers fudged by the former Liberal government. He said Fraser could blow the lid off murky enforcement costs and a shadowy $273-million computer contract he uncovered while in Opposition. "She could be highlighting the fact that contracts were given out and there's not a proper paper trail," he said. "That's a damning indictment of how a government does business if there's no paper trail and you're shovelling millions of dollars out the door." Breitkreuz has filed about 550 access to information requests on the gun registry, but still doesn't know the true costs. He predicts the AG's report will be a "significant event that will finally "put the nail in the coffin" of the registry. The Tories have pledged to abolish the "boondoggle" through a vote in Parliament but a majority of Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs threaten to block it. Fraser's spokesman, Julie Hebert, would not elaborate on findings before the report is presented May 16, but confirmed a supplementary report to the main gun registry audit was required. "It's another matter that came out while we were doing the follow-up audit of the Canada Firearms Centre," she said. "We came across something else that we thought we should make Parliament aware of, that's why it's in a separate report." kathleen.harris@tor.sunpub.com ----------------------------------------------------- AUDITOR GENERAL'S NEWS
RELEASE Chapter 4 — Canadian Firearms Program. The chapter looks at the management of the Program since 2002, when the Auditor General reported that an audit of the program's implementation could not be completed. Financial information was unreliable and insufficient to allow for Parliament's effective scrutiny or to explain the dramatic increase in the cost of the program. Since then, Parliament has expressed concern about the quality of information provided to it on the program's costs and performance. This status report assesses the progress of the Canada Firearms Centre in addressing the 2002 audit's single recommendation—that the gaps in financial reporting be rectified. We also looked at contract management and performance reporting. Another significant matter. In carrying out our audit of the Canada Firearms Centre, we noted a matter with significant implications for Parliament's control of public spending. Along with the Status Report we are providing a report that discusses this matter in detail. |