“When
Bill C-68 is repealed, a private company will not be needed to run an effective
gun control program.”
Yorkton
– Today, Garry Breitkreuz, the Official
Opposition’s gun control critic, served notice on all companies bidding on a
proposed 15-year contract with the federal government to help implement and
operate the Justice Department’s problem-plagued gun registry.
News reports put the estimated value of the contract at $300 million.
“I asked the lawyers in the Library of Parliament to tell me how we
could cancel this contract without experiencing the problems the Liberals did
when they cancelled the Pearson Airport deal,” said Breitkreuz.
“The government has broken every promise they made about the gun
registry and wasted almost $700 million in taxpayers’ dollars on their
politically-motivated firearms fiasco. We
intend to put a stop to this useless program and the red ink as soon as the
Liberals are kicked out of office. I
thought it was only fair to warn the companies bidding on this unnecessary
contract.”
The Library of
Parliament wrote: Section H
of the Canadian Firearms Centre Request for Proposals (CFCRFP) – Model
Contract – includes a reference in clause 40 a “Termination of
Convenience” clause that enables the Minister to terminate the contract at any
time prior to completion of the work. In
the event of such a termination, the government would pay for costs incurred up
to the termination event. Clause 40
incorporates by reference the standard Public Works and Government Services
Canada Termination for Convenience clause set out as clause 27 of DSS-MAS 9601
(16/02/98) General Conditions - Long Form. The Library attached copies of the 3-page “Termination of
Convenience” clause to their research paper. “If any of the companies that have submitted proposals would like
copies of the Library of Parliament research paper, they should contact my
office,” offered Breitkreuz.
“In 1995, our
party promised in Parliament to repeal Bill C-68 because it is a bad law.
Six years of bureaucratic blunders and cost overruns have proven us
right. We have fought two election
campaigns promising to repeal the current firearms law (C-68)
and replace it with a practical firearms control system that is cost effective
and respects the rights of Canadians to own and use firearms responsibly.”
Replacing
Bill C-68 will be based on the following principles:
·
It
will crackdown hard on criminals who use weapons - not responsible firearm
owners;
·
It
will be easy to understand, administer and enforce;
·
It
will be cost-effective at reducing the criminal use of firearms;
·
It
will curtail smuggling and black-market gun sales;
·
It
will convince the vast majority of gun owners to help the government and police
implement it;
·
It
will convince all taxpayers to share the cost - everyone benefits from improved
public safety;
·
It
will be able to pass a public safety test administered by the Auditor General of
Canada;
·
It
will respect the exclusive constitutional jurisdiction of the provinces; and
·
It
will respect the fundamental rights of all individuals – especially property
rights.
-30-