NEWS RELEASE
June 18, 2002
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT DOCUMENT SHOWS 70% OF THE OWNERS OF REGISTERED
HANDGUNS DON'T HAVE A VALID FIREARMS LICENCE
"Either it shows the most massive open defiance of the Criminal Code
in Canadian history, or it's absolute proof that the Liberal's gun
registration scheme can never work."
Ottawa - Today, Garry Breitkreuz, Official Opposition Critic on Firearms
and Property Rights, released one of the most amazing and damning
documents yet released by the Department of Justice. "I can't
believe they released such an embarrassing document. Either it shows the
most massive open defiance of the Criminal Code in Canadian history, or
it's absolute proof that the Liberal's gun registration scheme can never
work. I tend to think the latter, but whatever answer the Justice
Minister selects, it spells another huge blow to the credibility of the
government's gun registry," predicted Breitkreuz.
The documents obtained by Breitkreuz from the Justice Department
state:
ATIP A2002-0063 - Numbers provided are as of May 27, 2002
(1) The total number of individuals in the Restricted Weapons
Registration System (RWRS) that own firearms registered in the RWRS:
429,316 (2) The total number that hold valid firearms licences
authorizing them to own the firearms registered to them in the RWRS. The
number of confirmed licences in CFRS for firearms owned in the RWRS:
124,941 (3) The total number of individuals that have re-registered their
firearms: 96,237.
"This shoots a big hole in the Justice Minister's claim of a 90%
compliance rate. If these statistics are to be believed, it means that
304,375 owners of registered restricted and prohibited firearms are
subject to a penalty of up to ten years in jail for knowingly being in
unauthorized possession of their firearms. I don't think very many people
that own a gun already registered with the RCMP would run such a
risk," said Breitkreuz. This is why I think these statistics reveal
a fatal flaw in the entire gun registry. A more realistic explanation is
that over the last 68 years of registering guns, the RCMP have simply
lost track of the vast majority of these 300,000 owners of registered
weapons. Gun owners move, or die or sell their firearms, but the RCMP has
obviously failed to keep their records up to date. Over the years, the
errors have accumulated making the gun registry practically useless for
effective law enforcement. How will the executive of the Canadian Police
Association defend their continued support for the gun registry
now?" asked Breitkreuz.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department provided statistics that prove
that the same errors are creeping into the government's new gun
registry.
As of February 21, 2002, they had mailed out 1,625,915 envelopes to
licenced firearms owners as part of their "Free" Registration
Program. So far 38,629 envelopes have been "Returned to Sender"
by Canada Post. So only a year after the licencing deadline, the
Department of Justice has already lost track of more than 38,000 licenced
gun owners. "This number will only increase as time goes on,"
predicted Breitkreuz. "Responsible firearms owners across Canada
have accurately characterized the gun registry as the Titanic. This new
evidence surely puts the bow of Bill C-68 under water."
"Just think how many lives could have been saved if we had put this
billion dollars into our health care system," concluded
Breitkreuz.
_______________________
Scott MacLean
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
ICQ: 9184011
http://www.nerosoft.com
