Ontario demands Ottawa put gun registry on hold
Last Updated Fri, 03 Jan 2003 18:09:33
OTTAWA - Calling the federal firearms program "a billion-dollar black hole," an Ontario cabinet minister says Ottawa should not spend another dime on the registry until an audit is conducted.
INDEPTH: Implementing the Firearms Act - the rising cost Bob Runciman "This is an unconscionable waste of taxpayers' money on an initiative that focuses primarily on law-abiding citizens," said Bob Runciman, the province's public safety and security minister, on Friday.
"One can only imagine the kind of impact a billion dollars could have had if it had been used for practical measures to fight crime or fund legitimate social needs like education and health care."
Last month, federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser raised concern that the cost of the gun registry has ballooned from a 1995 estimate of about $119 million into something that may eventually pass the billion-dollar mark.
She stopped a preliminary audit of the program because of "significant shortcomings" in the information the government gave her.
FROM DEC. 12, 2002:
Auditor general takes aim at gun registry's $1-billion price tag Under new regulations, Ottawa is making gun owners register their firearms.
Critics are furious, arguing that law-abiding citizens are being treated like criminals.
Meanwhile, they say, bank robbers, drug dealers and others won't bother complying.
To protest, some people have refused to register their firearms. Others have burned their documents, and carried unloaded weapons in public places taunting authorities to arrest them.
"It's clear from the auditor general's report that the real costs of the program could end up significantly higher than the current public estimate of $1 billion," Runciman said, and the auditor general must be allowed to complete a full audit of the registry.
Instead of pouring more money into the program, he suggested the government increase public safety by increasing the budgets of police forces and anti-terrorism squads.
In a news release, Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino said the firearms registry has not helped reduce crime in his city.
Written by CBC News Online
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