38th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION

(October 4, 2004 - )

EDITED HANSARD • NUMBER 075

Monday, April 4, 2005

Questions on the Order Paper

Hon. Dominic LeBlanc (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I thank you and my colleagues for allowing me to go ahead. The following questions will be answered today: Nos. 10, 81 and 82.
[Hansard Page 4636]

Question No. 82 -

Mr. Garry Breitkreuz:
With regard to the e-mail sent to all Members of Parliament on December 6, 2004, by the Honourable Roy Cullen, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, in which he stated: “So far in 2004, the Canada Firearms Centre (CAFC) has already produced more than 1100 affidavits to support the prosecution of firearms related crime. A further 1152 affidavits were prepared in 2003 building on 381 affidavits produced in 2002.”: (a) how many and what types of “firearms related crimes” were being investigated that prompted the need for these affidavits to be requested and issued; (b) how many individuals were charged, what charges were laid and how many convictions were obtained as a direct result of these affidavits; (c) what other Criminal Code offences were these persons charged with in addition to their “firearms related crimes”; and (d) how many people were charged just because they had failed to obtain the proper licence or registration certificates required by the Firearms Act and not because they had committed any violent crime?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, prior to preparing affidavits, the Canada Firearms Centre, CAFC, ensures that the information is required in the course of a lawful investigation. It confirms the necessity to provide the information and keeps a log of submitted requests for which an affidavit was provided. However, no inventory or summary of specifics is maintained.
Full information relating to charges laid and to the outcome of any court proceedings would be in the hands of police services and prosecutors.
The CAFC prepares these affidavits to support the prosecution of firearm-related offences. In 2004, the Canadian Firearms Registry produced 2,265 affidavits to support the prosecution of firearm-related crime. A further 1,152 affidavits were prepared in 2003 building on the 381 affidavits produced in 2002.

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