Ottawa – Today, Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, released another damning document obtained from the Department of Justice under the Access to Information Act. Six months after a study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) had exposed a myriad of horror stories about the mismanagement of the government’s new gun registry (details attached), the Justice Minister’s hand-picked group of firearms experts reported that the mess in Miramichi had still not been cleaned up! "This is contrary to public statements made by the Minister and her officials after I released copies of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers report," said Breitkreuz. In a letter dated January 21^st, 2000, Steve Torino, Chair of the User Group on Firearms, sent a detailed six-page report to Justice Minister Anne McLellan exposing the ongoing firearms flop and making 33 recommendations on how the Minister’s minions could fix the mess.

• The amount of information requested from owners is excessive compared to the safety requirements of the Act.
• Too many steps and procedures for the amount of information required by the legislation.
• Archaic equipment is used in many steps in any given process.
• Staff frustration at the slowness of the equipment response.
• There is insufficient staff to perform the necessary steps.
• The premises are too small and must be expanded.
• The bulk of [staff] complaints heard relate to system dysfunction.
• Employee suggestions do not seem to be given their due consideration.
• Response time for specific data entries…This is a major problem.
• Unnecessary length of time before a decision could be made.
• Lost time represented by these extra steps must be eliminated.
• This causes confusion, contradictory policies and unneeded frustration that the employees cannot handle.
• A former member of the RCMP, ‘I now understand what everyone is complaining about.’

e-mail: breitg0@parl.gc.ca

Web Site: www.garry-breitkreuz.com

Page 2: "It became evident to the members that the publicity campaign is not doing the job. For example, one caller, a member of the RCMP, began as a positive supporter, but finished in a negative mood when informed of the volume of work needed over and above sending money and details of his firearms. His parting comment noted was, ‘I now understand what everyone is complaining about. This situation was noted in the June and November 1999 focus Group tests, and requires immediate attention."

Page 2: "Staff frustration at the slowness of the equipment response."

Page 3: "The transfer to the CFR was done on line for the first firearm, resulting in a TAN # & Reg. Cert. # being issued in 32 minutes. The other dealer to dealer transfer was completed in 58 minutes. Other dealer to dealer transfers observed took longer without a Group member’s personal intervention. Observation of another load and go dealer to individual transfer (jumping the queue for the UGF observation) resulted in a CPIC hit, due to a date of birth proximity, and was sent to the CFO for further investigation. Elapsed time observed to this stage was 30 minutes. Observation of another dealer transfer to an individual buy in the store was made, but only from the Firearm Officer’s screen. Elapsed time for a clean CPIC check, forwarding to the CFR, and receipt of a TAN# & Reg. Certificate # from them was 27 minutes, not counting the unknown time in the hands of the data entry clerk."

Page 4: "Entries in CPIC that caused problems were noted with generalities rather than particulars, ie birth date entered as only the year (no day & month), yet required a F.O. scrutiny for an unnecessary length of time before a decision could be made."

Page 4: "Handoff to CFR and review of same data by CFR for approval: This process was observed to include the review of the same data that the FO, has examined, and appears to be an unnecessary repetitive step."

Page 4: "Response time for specific data entries was observed to be relatively slow for all fields of the entry process, with the hourglass appearing for too long a duration on the screen relative to the small amount of data entered. This is a major problem, when multiplied by a probable serious number of entries that will have to be made when total registrations is a reality."

Page 5: "We noted the use of both DOJ and HRDC employees, with two leaders. This causes confusion, contradictory policies and unneeded frustration that employees cannot handle, with is counterproductive."

Page 5: "Suggestions by the staff have apparently not been addressed to their satisfaction, present CPS policies and plans notwithstanding. The bulk of the complaints heard relate to system dysfunction."

Page 5: "The staff are troubled with two week shift scheduling program…continual dry-eye problems…no hygiene program in place for work stations…ergonomic points are not addressed from a standpoint of individual needs."

Page 5: "Employee suggestions do not seem to be given their due consideration. Individual steps seem designed without due consultation or hands on time by CPS staff and other users (firearms dealers) who live with this on a daily basis. Such users would have greatly simplified this process that is now significantly more complex than obtaining a passport or doing a credit card transaction."

Page 6: "Since the current system processes were apparently designed several years ago when much less was envisages as a system, serious revisions are needed to bring it into line with the massive volume

"Despite 70% lower than anticipated volumes – ‘tinkering’ with current processes and systems will not be sufficient to eliminate the backlog."

Ottawa – Today, Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville and Official Opposition Firearms Critic, dropped another bombshell on the federal government’s much troubled gun registry. "The Access to Information Act is proving to be the Justice Minister’s worst nightmare," said Breitkreuz. "The table of contents, let alone the 74-page PriceWaterhouseCoopers report, reads like a horror story written for bureaucrats by Stephen King." Here are just a few examples: "Backlogs exist across the operation - Workflow is inflexible and inefficient - Exception handling is not the exception; it’s the norm - System is not designed for operational efficiency – Current organizational structure still reflects a project mode – Emerging organizational structure will not promote operational productivity."

PriceWaterhouseCooper’s own consultants concluded, "Tinkering with current processes and systems will not be sufficient to eliminate the backlog." They summarized their analysis this way, "However, if these productivity issues are not addressed, then the capacity of the CFP will not be sufficient to deal with the demands placed on it." [their emphasis]

e-mail: breitg0@parl.gc.ca