From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V7 #614 Reply-To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Sender: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Errors-To: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Cdn-Firearms Digest Thursday, December 9 2004 Volume 07 : Number 614 In this issue: Letter: Registry has failed to prevent crime KEEP PROGRAM ALIVE: BEVAN Conservatives pick up motion to cut funding for gun registry GALLAWAY DROPS BID TO CUT MONEY FOR GUN REGISTRY EDITORIAL: SHOOT DOWN REGISTRY Editor (The gun registry is a gigantic waste.) Editorial: Consign gun registry to the trash heap of good ideas Editorial: It's time to scrap the gun registry MP ROY CULLEN: Gun registry is saving lives ROY CULLEN, MP: Gun registry works Letter: We're no safer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:05:36 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Letter: Registry has failed to prevent crime PUBLICATION: Toronto Star DATE: 2004.12.09 SECTION: Letter PAGE: A35 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Registry has failed to prevent crime - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Save the gun registry Editorial, Dec. 8. I disagree with your statement that the gun registry has made it safer for the public.The persons who use firearms with criminal intent do not apply for licences and do not register their firearms. The registry does not have any effect on preventing crimes by those persons. The registry was put into place by the federal government to give the public the illusion of a safer environment. Tom Novak, Brampton ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:10:03 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: KEEP PROGRAM ALIVE: BEVAN PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Sun DATE: 2004.12.09 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 17 ILLUSTRATION: photo of VINCE BEVAN Appeals to MPs BYLINE: SUN MEDIA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ KEEP PROGRAM ALIVE: BEVAN - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan has sent a letter to federal cabinet ministers asking them to lend their support to the firearms registry. In his capacity as Ottawa's top cop and as vice-president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Bevan is asking MPs to support those who are fighting to keep the program alive. "The law is not perfect, but it has provided police with information about who owns guns and the type of guns that they possess," he writes. "It has also made gun owners more responsible for their weapons and ammunition." His letter comes in response to a move by some Liberal MPs to cut funding to the Canadian Firearms Centre's budget by about 85% -- or $96 million. "Information is the lifeblood of policing and this law has without question made our jobs easier," said Bevan. "We are much better off today than we were 15 years ago." The cost of the gun registry has exploded from its initial price tag of $2 million to more than $1 billion. Bevan said there is evidence the program is working. "Firearm deaths, murders with rifles and shotguns and domestic murders are at all-time lows," he said. "Here in Ottawa, we have seen a number of cases where the system has been used to avert potential tragedies." - ------------------------------------------------ January 3, 2003 News Release - TORONTO POLICE CHIEF JULIAN FANTINO: "We have an ongoing gun crisis including firearms-related homicides lately in Toronto, and a law registering firearms has neither deterred these crimes nor helped us solve any of them," said Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino. "None of the guns we know to have been used were registered, although we believe that more than half of them were smuggled into Canada from the United States. The firearms registry is long on philosophy and short on practical results considering the money could be more effectively used for security against terrorism as well as a host of other public safety initiatives." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:10:21 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Conservatives pick up motion to cut funding for gun registry PUBLICATION: The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) DATE: 2004.12.09 EDITION: Final SECTION: National PAGE: C14 BYLINE: Sean Gordon SOURCE: CanWest News Service DATELINE: OTTAWA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conservatives pick up motion to cut funding for gun registry - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OTTAWA -- Conservative deputy leader Peter MacKay is going where he says Liberal Roger Gallaway fears to tread, picking up a motion from the Sarnia MP that seeks to slash funding for the beleaguered federal gun registry. Gallaway introduced the motion last week, but then withdrew it late Tuesday after encountering strong opposition within the Liberal ranks. MacKay immediately tabled an identical motion that will be debated in Parliament today -- in the slot originally set aside for Gallaway -- and a vote is scheduled for this evening in the House of Commons. "We knew this was coming, we knew he was going to cave. We've worded the motion identically to his. This is going to put to the test Mr. Gallaway and the other Liberal backbenchers who supported him," said MacKay, adding "a lot of Liberal backbenchers go back to their ridings and tell people they're fighting these kinds of issues, but when the vote comes, they melt like the spring snow. So I guess we'll see." Though MacKay acknowledged the motion would likely be defeated because the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Quebecois are strong proponents of the gun registry, he wants the public record to reflect his party's opposition to the program, which has been plagued by ballooning costs since its inception nine years ago. Gallaway's motion sought to cut $85 million from the Canadian Firearms Centre's annual budget, a move that gun-control advocates say would have gutted the program entirely. A Conservative amendment seeking to turn off the financial taps was defeated at the committee stage last week. Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, a staunch defender of the registry, welcomed Gallaway's decision. "I'm pleased that he has done so. I think the program is an important part of our overall public safety initiatives in this country and therefore I think it is a good thing that Mr. Gallaway has done and I thank him," she said. Gallaway, who had a half-hour meeting with Prime Minister Paul Martin on Tuesday, couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:14:47 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: GALLAWAY DROPS BID TO CUT MONEY FOR GUN REGISTRY PUBLICATION: The London Free Press DATE: 2004.12.09 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A3 ILLUSTRATION: photo of PETER MacKAY BYLINE: CHIP MARTIN, FREE PRESS POLITICS REPORTER - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GALLAWAY DROPS BID TO CUT MONEY FOR GUN REGISTRY - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vowing he'll try again another day, MP Roger Gallaway (Lib-Sarnia-Lambton) has dropped his bid to cut funding to the national firearms registry. But his cause was immediately taken up by deputy Conservative Leader Peter MacKay, who said he'll introduce the same motion today in the House of Commons as Gallaway had planned. MacKay said Gallaway had "caved in" when faced with grief from his own party. Gallaway's motion called for a separate vote on federal government plans to spend $80 million more on the nine-year-old program that has cost taxpayers $1 billion. But after realizing he had no chance of pulling the plug on the registry - -- and faced with criticism from within his own party -- Gallaway withdrew it from today's House of Commons business. He could not be reached for comment yesterday. The maverick MP has argued the program has been fiscally irresponsible, has done nothing to protect Canadians and is ultimately doomed to die. Gallaway said this week he felt deceived by his own government, which predicted a net cost of as little as $2 million back in 1995. He said the motion was his means of registering displeasure. Gallaway was originally criticized for his attempt to cut funding by Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan who likened him to renegade MP Carolyn Parrish, whose criticisms of Prime Minister Paul Martin saw her expelled from the party. Gallaway called that comparison "astounding . . . (and) clear evidence the lady (McLellan) doesn't know what she is taking about." He insisted he was merely exercising his constitutional right to question government spending. Then McLellan switched gears, saying she was appalled a fellow Liberal would try to scrap the registry on the 15th anniversary of the slaying of 14 women in Montreal that gave rise to the firearms legislation in the first place. Faced with criticism from government members he says are "disconnected" from taxpayer concerns about fiscal responsibility and with the prospect of insufficient support in the house, Gallaway withdrew his motion. "I just think there's a lot of stupid people on the front bench," he told a newspaper reporter in Ottawa, referring to the Martin cabinet. Gallaway said he'll raise the issue next time spending plans are considered. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:15:05 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: EDITORIAL: SHOOT DOWN REGISTRY PUBLICATION: The Calgary Sun DATE: 2004.12.09 EDITION: Final SECTION: Editorial/Opinion PAGE: 14 COLUMN: Editorial - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SHOOT DOWN REGISTRY - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's always best to acknowledge a mistake, turn the page and move on. This is what Liberal MP Roger Gallaway was doing when he made a motion that would have cut off $96 million in additional funding to the federal gun registry program -- in effect killing it. The minority Liberal government didn't take kindly to Gallaway's common sense manoeuvre and he was forced to withdraw his motion under pressure. The Conservatives have vowed to revive the motion to pull the trigger on the registry, but they're likely to miss their target. The Bloc and NDP will line up with the Liberals on the issue and the small band of rebel Grits who'd promised to support Gallaway have no doubt been cowed into submission. So much for Paul Martin's vow to allow MPs more freedom on votes. Too bad, because the long-gun registry, known as the National Firearms Program, is all about politics and very little about gun-violence prevention. Politically, it was Chretien-era posturing to show Ottawa was doing something about gun violence. In reality, the program's potential impact is almost nil. A criminal's weapon of choice is almost always a handgun, because it's easily concealed. Handguns have been registered in this country for more than 70 years, but criminals are rarely stupid enough to intentionally leave their card at a crime scene. Guns used in crimes are usually smuggled into the country or stolen. Long guns had strict controls long before the registry began. Before buying a rifle, a person must pass written and practical tests on safe handling of the weapon. This qualifies him or her for a possession and acquisition licence. Then, the candidate must comply with federal gun storage laws and, if a hunter, acquire a provincial hunting licence. Long guns are used mainly by hunters and farmers, who tend to perceive the registry as unnecessary government intervention. Laws that don't have public buy-in often fail. But the bottom line is that the registry, originally expected to cost $2 million but now up to $1 billion, is not value for the money. Rather than throwing good money after bad, Paul Martin's government should axe the program now and use the money that is saved in a variety of law-enforcement initiatives. Martin didn't hesitate to kill the sponsorship program when he became PM a year ago. It's time to abandon another losing cause. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:15:20 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Editor (The gun registry is a gigantic waste.) PUBLICATION: The Calgary Sun DATE: 2004.12.09 EDITION: Final SECTION: Editorial/Opinion PAGE: 14 COLUMN: Letters to the Editor THOSE 1,300 cops could have protected us from all sorts of other weapons including handguns, too. ("Gunfight on hill," Roy Clancy, Dec. 8.) Socialists think one only need spend money and the problem will magically be solved. No wonder they waste so much of ours with little or no improvement to society. Chuck Lambert Editor (The gun registry is a gigantic waste.) - - - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:15:39 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Editorial: Consign gun registry to the trash heap of good ideas gone bad Sender: owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Reply-To: cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca PUBLICATION: Vancouver Sun DATE: 2004.12.09 EDITION: Final SECTION: Editorial PAGE: A12 SOURCE: Vancouver Sun - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Consign gun registry to the trash heap of good ideas gone bad - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Liberal MP Roger Gallaway's decision to drop his current plan to starve the federal gun registry of funds shows a sense of human decency. His intention to resume the fight at a later date shows grit, and offers a way out of the quagmire that the registry has become. The maverick backbench Ontario MP showed an appalling sense of timing when he announced he would force a vote in the House of Commons on Thursday. To take such a step only days after nationwide observations of the 15th anniversary of the killing of 14 young women at l'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal by a disturbed young man with a rifle was inappropriate. Achingly sad memorial services across the country have refreshed our memory of that terrible day, and rightly so. Gallaway's decision to force the issue at a later date also shows a sense of tactics. He did the math on the planned vote, and saw that as things stood, he was headed for defeat. The Conservatives were prepared to back him, but the Bloc Quebecois wasn't, and there was precious little support from the NDP or the vast majority of his own party. Despite the colossal waste and inefficiency of the gun registry, the majority of our politicians are not yet prepared to face facts and start over. It is time for them to realize that regardless of their feelings - -- as well as those of their constituents -- about gun control, the program is too far gone to be saved in its current form. BLOATED PRICE TAG The term "much-maligned" has been attached to recent references to the program, and with reason. Its skyrocketing budget, endless missteps and ability to antagonize large numbers of otherwise placid citizens is unparallelled. Gallaway's original plan was to block $96 million in funding for the registry. That's 48 times its total projected cost when it opened in 1998; today, it's just a decent bite out of its bloated billion-dollar-plus price tag. No matter: The program is still protected by a government that would rather cling to a sinking ship than swim to a life raft. Serge Menard, the Bloc's public-safety critic, muddied the water recently with the hopelessly irrelevant observation that just because one has paid too much for a house does not mean one should set fire to it. The idea is not to burn it down: To borrow Menard's metaphor, if your house is poorly built, repair it -- even if that means going back to the foundations and starting again. A TAINTED LEGACY No government agency that winds up over budget by a factor of more than 500 has the faintest chance of operating effectively in its original form, even with the best will in the world. No matter how much is spent, it will collapse under the crushing weight of its own inefficiency and tainted legacy. The Liberals have a chance to do something about this, although it will take a lot of effort from Gallaway to get them to admit it. Registering shotguns and rifles has turned out to be a fruitless and divisive activity. Homicides across Canada were down slightly last year from the previous year -- 548, compared to 581. Homicides by firearms -- 161 -- remained roughly the same as most recent years, and 10 more than the total in the year the registry began. As our use of rifles and shotguns to kill our fellow Canadians has gone down, we have turned to handguns -- legally required to be registered since the 1930s -- to do the job. The registry's failure to produce results, not to mention the sheer fumbling incompetence on the part of the federal government and its employees, should have been enough to consign it to the rubbish heap of history long ago. When the politicians finally have the opportunity to vote on its future, it is to be hoped that they will pause to consider how much more effectively that money could be spent searching for ways to control our murderous tendencies, instead of wasting it on a flawed program that demonstrably does not work. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:15:57 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Editorial: It's time to scrap the gun registry PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen DATE: 2004.12.09 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PNAME: Editorial PAGE: A16 SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's time to scrap the gun registry - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's too bad Roger Gallaway dropped his motion to end funding for the gun registry. But the Liberals can't erase the writing on the wall as easily as they can silence one of their own MPs. In fact, while Mr. Gallaway's motion probably would have failed in any vote today, support seemed likely to come from some New Democrats and Liberals as well as Conservatives. Indeed, Conservative MP Peter MacKay has put forward an identical motion to Mr. Gallaway's, but it, too, will likely fail today. Such wide-spectrum opposition to the registry is a sign that its problems go beyond ideology. It is a wasteful, poorly run program. Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan and others have questioned Mr. Gallaway's timing, as his motion was to come a few days after the 15th anniversary of the gun murder of 14 women in Montreal by Marc Lepine. But if the registry is flawed -- and it is -- it is flawed every day of the year. No one can say with any certainty whether the gun registry, or any gun- control program, would have prevented Marc Lepine's crime, or any crime. Neither can anyone be certain about what is behind the decrease in gun-related deaths in Canada. It's possible the registry is to thank for that, but it's also possible it isn't. The truth is not served by assumptions and unproven claims. What is clear, however, is that the wastefulness, complexity and unforeseen costs of the registry have not prevented any crimes. The implementation of the firearms program has come at a price for taxpayers of more than $1 billion. The registry portion itself is currently costing $33 million a year; the government says it will cap the annual cost at $25 million starting next fiscal year. We'll believe it when we see it. In the meantime, the Liberals' blind support for this program is beginning to smack of desperation. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:16:14 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: MP ROY CULLEN: Gun registry is saving lives PUBLICATION: National Post DATE: 2004.12.09 EDITION: Toronto SECTION: Editorials PAGE: A21 BYLINE: Roy Cullen SOURCE: National Post - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gun registry is saving lives - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Re: Gallaway's Gambit, editorial, Dec. 7. The Canadian Firearms Program is much more than a "gun registry." It provides the kind of gun control Canadians expect: safe storage, handling and transportation of firearms, safety training and education, effective border controls, in addition to the licensing of firearm owners and the registration of firearms. We are seeing the benefits of the program. There are about two million firearms licence holders, and almost seven million firearms registered. Approximately 12,000 individual firearms licences have been refused or revoked to date by Chief Firearms Officers. Law enforcement authorities are using the registry, as approximately 2,000 queries from police and other public safety officials are handled daily. The Canadian Firearms Program contributes significantly to the culture of safety of which Canadians are rightfully proud, as statistics show a significant decline in the use of firearms in homicides and robberies, as well as in suicides in Canada. At the same time, steps have been taken to reduce costs of the firearms centre and program. Costs to the centre are now half of what they were in fiscal year 2000-2001 and will continue to decline to $85-million in 2005/06. Within that $85-million annual funding, a $25-million cap on registration-related costs will be established. Roy Cullen, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Ottawa. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:16:32 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: ROY CULLEN, MP: Gun registry works PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL IDN: 043440185 DATE: 2004.12.09 PAGE: A24 (ILLUS) BYLINE: ROY CULLEN SECTION: Letter to the Edit EDITION: Metro DATELINE: Ottawa ONT WORDS: 218 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gun registry works - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ROY CULLEN MP, parliamentary secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ottawa In your editorial End The Gun Registry (Dec. 7) you state that the Canadian Firearms Program is not salvageable. It would be fair to your readers to clarify that investments have been made, licensing of owners and registration of firearms is now complete, and we are reaping the benefits of our investment. Law-enforcement authorities are making use of program information through the Canadian Firearms Registry on-line, which receives approximately 2,000 daily queries from police and other public-safety officials. Approximately 12,000 firearms licences have been refused or revoked to date by chief firearms officers across Canada. So far in 2004, the Canada Firearms Centre has already produced more than 1,100 affidavits to support the prosecution of firearms-related crime. About 6,000 firearms have been traced in gun-crime and firearm-trafficking cases within Canada and internationally. At the same time, significant steps have been taken to reduce costs, which will decline to $85-million in 2005-06 and beyond. Within that, a $25-million cap on registration-related costs will be established. Statistics show a significant decline in the use of firearms in homicides and robberies, as well as in suicides, in Canada. In short, the Canadian Firearms Program contributes significantly to the culture of safety of which Canadians are rightfully proud. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 2004 15:18:51 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Letter: We're no safer PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen DATE: 2004.12.09 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PNAME: Letters PAGE: A15 BYLINE: George Penfold SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We're no safer - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Today, Marc Lepine would still be able to get his firearms licence and buy the same gun by virtue of his not having a criminal record. After $2 billion of incompetent spending in operating the gun registry, the singular difference would be that the police might be able to confirm that the gun was registered. It is impossible to legislate against the thankfully rare actions of a madman. The coroner at the Montreal inquest knew that -- even most fools know that. Yet millions and millions of dollars have been spent over the the years kowtowing to voters and special interest groups without any increase in public safety. The Liberals refuse to stop wasting taxpayer money on this useless exercise, yet cannot provide one iota of proof that public safety has been improved. Firearm crime had been dropping prior to Bill C-68. Can Anne McLellan prove it wouldn't have dropped more without this farcical legislation? Gun suicides are down while the total number of suicides is increasing, a good indication that our health-care system just keeps on failing. What a track record. Are Canadians feeling safer? I doubt it. George Penfold, Ottawa ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V7 #614 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:akimoya@cogeco.ca List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca FAQ list: http://www.magma.ca/~asd/cfd-faq1.html and http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/homepage.html FTP Site: ftp://teapot.usask.ca/pub/cdn-firearms/ CFDigest Archives: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/ or put the next command in an e-mail message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca get cdn-firearms-digest v04.n192 end (192 is the digest issue number and 04 is the volume) To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next five lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-alert unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".) 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