38th Parliament, 1st Session
(October 4, 2004 - )

[Parliamentary Coat-of-Arms]

Edited Hansard • Number 050

Friday, February 4, 2005

ORAL QUESTION PERIOD

 

Firearms Registry

    Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton—Melville, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised voters a more open and transparent government and yet he hides a report on the $2 billion gun registry, a report he ordered and a report he promised would fix this mess. That report came back full of blanks.

    Why is the Prime Minister blanking out the truth? Why is he doing the same thing Jean Chrétien did, keeping Parliament in the dark?

    Hon. Roy Cullen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the firearms program has a very positive cost benefit because it is working and it is contributing to public safety.

    Police and other officials use the firearms program information. In fact, they are averaging 15,000 inquiries a week from the firearms registry online.

    So far this year, 1,100 affidavits have been prepared by the Canada Firearms Centre to support firearms related criminal prosecutions and more than 12,000--

    The Deputy Speaker: The hon. member for Yorkton —Melville.

  Mr. Garry Breitkreuz ( Yorkton —Melville, CPC): Mr. Speaker, that answer indicates that the government is shooting blanks and missing the target completely.

    The Canadian Firearms Centre sent out letters with 770,000 free licence renewals but 46,509 letters came back as undelivered.

    How are the police supposed to know where all the guns are when they do not even know where 50,000 gun owners live?

    Hon. Roy Cullen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the only member shooting blanks is the member opposite.

    Police organizations are supporting the gun registry. In fact, I would like to quote the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police President, Edgar MacLeod, who said:

 

    There is no question that the system works and that it is a valuable tool. ...new gun-control system improves the screening of legal gun owners, increases their accountability and provides tools to prevent the diversion and misuse of firearms.

    We are managing and containing the cost, and we will continue to do so.

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