Auditor General Takes Aim at Gun Registry

By 250 News

    The cash register just keeps ringing up the dollars on the gun Registry.  Auditor General Sheila Fraser  noted more problems in her report to Parliament today including:

-new computer system  has cost $90 million, that’s three times the original budgetted amount

-$39 million for the new computer system was not reported to Parliament

-Another $21.8 million spent doesn’t show in the  registry’s accounting 

She also noted some flaws within the Registry’s operations.  For instance, she pointed out that although  some people had their licenses revoked between July and October of last year,  the Centre for Firearms Control doesn’t know what happened to more than half of the firearms owned by those people.  She also raised questions about the information submitted saying no one checks the accuracy of information submitted by gun owners, and no one  checks the background of those who are voluntarily varifying  firearms in the field.

Four years ago, Fraser predicted the cummulative cost of the registry over its first ten years of operation would be one billion dollars.  That is a far cry from the $2 million the Chretien government had said would be the annual cost.  The Liberal governmet figured  most of the cots to run the  registry would be covered by  long gun owners, thrugh the  form of fees, leaving an  annual balance of about $2 million that would have to be covered  by the Federal government.

The Harper government made dismantling  the gun registry an election promise.  As a minority government that may be easier said than done as  any legisltation  to repeal the  registry laws  would have to be passed in Parliament.  The NDP  say they will stand in favour of keeping the registry,  the Liberals are split because of the rural/urban divide, and the Bloc has indicated it will stand in favour of keeping the registry. 

There is always plan "B" which calls for no further funding for the Registry.

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