PUBLICATION:        The Windsor Star

DATE:                         2004.05.22

EDITION:                    Final

SECTION:                  Special Section

PAGE:                         A8

BYLINE:                     Tim Naumetz

SOURCE:                   Canwest News Service

DATELINE:                 OTTAWA

ILLUSTRATION:     Photo: Ralph Goodale

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Gun registry no comfort to Canadians: Half polled believe program an expensive gimmick

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OTTAWA -- Nearly half of Canadians think the federal firearms registry is an "expensive gimmick" that failed to keep guns from criminals, but harmed farmers who need guns to protect livestock, a new survey has found.

The public opinion poll found exactly the same number of Canadians -- 47 per cent -- feel less safe from violent crime now then they did four years ago.

The pre-election survey for CanWest News/Global National, done by Compas, found the highest rate of skepticism about the gun registry in the four western provinces.

Fully 63 per cent of respondents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba responded positively when asked if this opinion about the gun registry was closest to their own: "It was an expensive gimmick that didn't keep guns from criminals but harmed farmers, who need guns to protect their livestock."

In Alberta, 59 per cent agreed with the statement, while 50 per cent of B.C. respondents agreed. In the eastern and Atlantic provinces, a minority agreed with the statement -- 47 per cent in Ontario, 37 per cent in Quebec and 43 per cent in the four Atlantic provinces.

WEST MOST WORRIED ABOUT VIOLENCE

Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said he believes the spending cap Ottawa placed on the gun registry this week, along with other measures, will ease some concerns about the program.

"What we tried to demonstrate here is it's important for this (gun control) system to treat legitimate gun owners and gun users respectfully and in as user-friendly a fashion as possible," said Goodale.

Fear of violent crime was also higher in the western provinces. Fifty-nine per cent of respondents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba said they feel less safe now then they did four years ago, while 54 per cent of B.C. respondents said they feel less safe.

In Alberta and Ontario, 47 per cent felt less safe. Thirty-five per cent of Quebec respondents felt less safe now, compared to 45 per cent in the Atlantic.