Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.
Yorkton-Melville		 News Release

For Immediate Delivery

May 28, 1998

LIBERALS DON’T CARE ABOUT 50% ERROR RATE IN FIREARMS REGISTRATION SCHEME

"Commons Committee vetoed a review of concerns raised by Justice Minister’s own firearms experts."

Ottawa – Today, Reform MPs tried to have the government’s hand-picked group of firearms experts appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice to explain why they are warning Justice Minister Anne McLellan that universal registration is in grave and imminent danger of dying at the starting gate. "But the Liberals said no they don’t have to listen to the people’s concerns," reported Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville

Breitkreuz with the support of two other Reform MPs and one Conservative MP, used House of Commons Standing Orders to force the Liberal dominated Justice Committee to review two letters leaked to the Official Opposition and one obtained through Access to Information: (1) A 2-page letter from the Minister of Justice’s own User Group on Firearms describing six major concerns about the new firearms registry including a projected 50% error rate and an increase in black-market sales of firearms, (2) A 2-page letter from the Canadian Police Association describing their concerns about grossly flawed and misleading firearms data prepared by the Justice Department, and (3) A 4-page letter from the Commissioner of the RCMP describing his concerns that the Department of Justice misrepresented RCMP firearms statistics in Parliament.

"Today the Liberals showed their true colours," a disappointed Breitkreuz explained to the television cameras after the meeting. "They don’t care if there’s a 50% error rate in the registration system. They don’t care if legitimate firearm dealers are driven out of business. They don’t care if smuggling and black-market sales of firearms increase. They don’t care about the Justice Department’s plans to confiscate registered firearms without compensating the rightful owner. They don’t care if the government lied to the public, Parliament and the court about the number of firearms involved in violent crime. They don’t care if their registration scheme will cost hundreds of millions of tax dollars. They don’t care if police waste their time chasing responsible firearm owners instead of real criminals," declared Breitkreuz.

Jack Ramsay, Chief Justice Critic for the Official Opposition told the Committee, "We have to know why the Minister’s own firearms experts are saying that there will be a 50% error rate. Saying we don’t have the time is simply not an excuse. The members of the Justice Committee are not just responsible to our own constituents but the millions of people who will be affected by this new law across the country and the police who have to enforce it," said Ramsay. "Health experts warned the government ten years before Hepatitis C became a huge liability and risk to public safety. The government is making the same magnitude of mistake when it ignores the warnings of their own firearms experts."

"The government’s own experts are blowing the whistle on the gun registration scheme and as far as the Liberals are concerned they might as well be blowing in the wind. Why do we have a Justice Committee if they refuse to listen to legitimate concerns." Breitkreuz concluded, "This should boost attendance for the September 22nd FED-UP II Rally on Parliament Hill."

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For more information please contact
The Office of GarryBreitkreuz, M.P.

Yorkton: (306) 782-3309
Ottawa: (613) 992-4394