"So much for the Minister’s promise that they wouldn’t take police off the street."

"No where is the evidence clearer than in British Columbia where 24 Mounties have been lent to the Attorney General of BC to implement the federal government’s gun registry. It’s a political shell-game," declared Breitkreuz. "The federal government pays the province of BC to implement the gun laws and on top of that lends them 24 RCMP officers to help them. That’s 24 highly trained police officers that are busy being paper-pushing bureaucrats instead of patrolling streets and investigating crime."

On October 18^th, 1999, the Vancouver Sun reported, "The RCMP estimates that of 5,500 positions in B.C., there are currently 300 ‘true vacancies’ that have not been filled and an additional 200 temporary vacancies caused by officers on some form of leave." Breitkreuz observed, "Now we know where 24 of them are working and it’s not fighting crime."

The Mayor of Surrey, BC recently wrote Reform MP Chuck Cadman about chronic understaffing in the Surrey RCMP detachment and complained that the 40 vacant positions had resulted in excessive overtime. "The 24 Mounties working for the province on the gun registry would go a long way to filling the vacancies in Surrey," said Breitkreuz.

Last Friday, during Question Period in the House of Commons, Reform MP Inky Mark asked the government, "Today there are 39 unfilled RCMP positions in Manitoba, paid for by the taxpayers of Manitoba. The government's new estimates show $35 million for gun control and only $13.8 million for the RCMP. Why does this government put gun registration ahead of putting more police on the streets?" Breitkreuz added, "As usual the Liberals ducked this question because it exposed their true priorities."

"The government can still fool some of the people some of the time, but when nearly 400 RCMP are employed in the fatally flawed firearms registry, the only people that the Liberals are fooling are those that want to be fooled," concluded Breitkreuz.

-30-

Yorkton Office: (306) 782-3309

Ottawa Office: (613) 992-4394

By Garry Breitkreuz, MP (Yorkton-Melville)

Source: Estimated Staffing Levels, Canadian Firearms Registry, September 30, 1999

Note # 1: Alberta = 41 }

Saskatchewan = 18 }

Manitoba = 17 } [Only 86 hired out of a ‘total compliment’ of 92]

NWT = 7 }

NUNAVUT = 3 }

Note #2: Salaries and IPA = $3,464,428

Operations & Travel = $2,142,033

Capital = $ 446,436

TOTAL: $6,052,897

Note #1: 21 Constables, 2 Staff Sgts, 1 Inspector

Note #2: "Working on a seconded basis to the Attorney General of BC"

Note #1: 1 Constables, 1 Sgt.

Note #1: 3 Constables

Yorkton Office: (306) 782-3309

Ottawa Office: (613) 992-4394