NEWS RELEASE

March 9, 2000

For Immediate Release

LIBERALS USED BUDGET HYPE TO SNEAK $46 MILLION MORE INTO GUN REGISTRY!

"How many millions need to be wasted before everyone sees the gun registry for the boondoggle it is?"

Yorkton – Today, Garry Breitkreuz, Official Opposition Firearms Critic, made everyone aware of the new spending for this year announced in the second set of Supplementary Estimates tabled in the House of Commons on March 2nd – three days after the budget speech. "With all the budget hype, the government was probably hoping no one would notice that they poured another $46.2 million into the Liberal’s favourite sinkhole – the gun registry," said Breitkreuz. The Saskatchewan MP pointed to budget documents showing the Liberals have spent $81.2 million on the gun registry since November 4, 1999. "Remember in 1995 when the Justice Minister promised it would only cost $85 million over five years?" asked Breitkreuz. "Well, this Minister just blew that much in the last four months!"

"This $81.2 million in ‘new appropriations’ is added to the original budget allocation for 1999/2000 - estimated to be at least $60 million. "Unfortunately, I have to say estimated because the Justice Minister is still using Cabinet secrecy to hide the true costs from the taxpaying public," said Breitkreuz.

Here’s what I have been able to uncover so far, thanks mostly to the Access to Information Act:

  1. Documents obtained from the Dept. of Justice put the total cost of the registry since 1995 at $216 million as of March 31,1999.
  2. Jean Valin, Director of Communications for the Canadian Firearms Centre has stated publicly that the operating costs will "average $60 million a year for the next ten years."
  3. Supplementary Estimates tabled in the House of Commons on November 4, 1999 show that $35 million more will be spent on the "Firearms Control Program" this fiscal year [1999/2000].
  4. Supplementary Estimates tabled in the House of Commons on March 2, 2000 added another $46.2 million to the gun registry budget for 1999/2000.
  5. Justice has blocked 172 pages of Canadian Firearms Centre budget documents using "Cabinet confidences" [Read: Secrecy].
  6. The Minister’s departmental officials are even refusing to provide the "Proposed Budget Allocation" for 1999/2000 stating they don't need to release what they proposed to spend.
  7. Justice Minister Anne McLellan stated publicly that "user fees will cover the entire cost" of the registry. During the first year of operation the department has only recovered $6.4 million in user fees and they are refusing to provide documents outlining their "cost recovery plan".
  8. The Minister of Justice has also used Cabinet secrecy to withhold a 115-page report from the public on the negative impact the Firearms Act will have on the economy. This will cost the economy billions as businesses cut back and close and thousands are laid off.

"It’s obvious why Anne McLellan is going to such lengths to hide the truth from the Canadian people," stated Breitkreuz. "The Minister knows that public support for the gun registry drops to under 40% when the costs go over $500 million. Well, the registry budget is now more than $350 million – 4 times the original budget of $85 million. In the private sector, the manager responsible for such a gross error in budget forecasting and project mismanagement would be fired!" exclaimed Breitkreuz. "In government, the Minister responsible is given even more millions to pour down the drain – your millions."

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For more information, please call:

Yorkton Office: (306) 782-3309

Ottawa Office: (613) 992-4394

e-mail: breitg0@parl.gc.ca