Out of control
The Canadian government is under fire over the failure of a new national gun registry, reports Anne McIlroy from Ottawa
Monday December 16, 2002
Unlike Americans, the majority of Canadians believe in strict gun control laws.
A scathing report about the failure of a new national gun registry has prompted calls for the prime minister, Jean Chretien, to resign before the February 2004 date he has set for his retirement.
The report, which says the registry has cost 400 times more than it was supposed to and still isn't working properly, has re-ignited a debate over the best way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
It is an argument that has pitted rural Canadians against those who live in cities.
The gun registry was announced in 1995, the response of the new Liberal government to public outrage over the massacre of 14 female engineering students by a woman-hating gunman in Montreal.
The government said the registry wouldn't cost taxpayers much because licence fees would cover the operating costs of registering 7m guns. Instead, the bill is now £500m and rising.
The registry added a new, all-encompassing layer to gun control in Canada.
Handguns have been restricted for 70 years and must be registered, and permits are required to carry restricted weapons. The purchase of shotguns and rifles require a firearms acquisition certificate, which can't be obtained without a background check.
But the registry meant that every gun in Canada would have to be registered with the federal government by January 2003, even if they were purchased 50 years ago.
Many gun-owners, especially those in rural areas, were incensed. They argued the registry was not the best way to reduce crimes involving guns, because criminals aren't likely to take the time to fill out the forms and mail in the licensing fee.
An aggressive campaign against the gun registry was mounted. At one demonstration, protesters picked up the car carrying the justice minister, Allan Rock, the architect of the plan, and shook it like a can of peanuts.
Mr Rock, a long-time contender to replace Mr Chretien, earned himself the enmity of rural voters with his plan, and that was before the news that the registry was the worst case of overspending Canada's auditor general had ever seen.
It seems the government underestimated how difficult a job it would be get Canadians to voluntarily register guns they may have had in their basements for years, and had to spend millions on advertising campaigns.
There are still an estimated 2m guns unaccounted for, a significant number.
The government also wasted millions on a new computer system, but kept the problems with the registry a secret.
"The issue here is not gun control," said the auditor general, Sheila Fraser, in a damning report. "And it's not even astronomical cost overruns, although those are serious. What's really inexcusable is that parliament was in the dark."
Fortunately for Mr Rock, who is currently the industry minister, he didn't oversee the implementation of his registry, and he wasn't the one who hid its skyrocketing price from parliament. That was his successor.
But as it turns out, the prime minister himself knew of the cost overruns and didn't take any action.
The fiasco has left many commentators questioning Mr Chretien's ability to govern. He has always offered Canadians cautious but competent government, but now, with his retirement a little over a year away, he appears to be loosing control.
He had to withdraw a motion for more funding for the gun registry for fear it would be defeated by his own MPs. He has promised them he will fix the problems with the registry, but it may be difficult to restore public confidence in the policy.
Canadians support gun control, but they don't support wasting millions of dollars on a gun registry that may not do any good.
Email
amcilroy@globeandmail.ca
Canadian gun owners, your thoughts please
Canadian gun owners, your thoughts please -
12-20-2002, 10:24 AM
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