Garry Breitkreuz, M.P. Yorkton-Melville

News Release

For Immediate Delivery

September 22, 1998

GOVERNMENT DECEIVING CANADIANS ABOUT GUN REGISTRATION

"Support for registration of all legally-owned firearms drops from 86% to 43% when truth is known."

Ottawa – As tens of thousands of law-abiding gun owners gathered on Parliament Hill, Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville accused the government of deceiving Canadians about the costs and benefits of their grandiose gun registration scheme. The Saskatchewan MP has written two major papers titled, What Bill C-68 will Cost Taxpayers and The Firearms Act Regulations Fail Treasury Board Policies. These very detailed reports document how the government has deceived the public and Parliament including in part: (1) the number of rifles and shotguns to register, (2) the number of gun owners to licence, (3) the costs of implementing the system, (4) the number of firearms involved in crime, (3) the level of public support for gun registration, (5) the costs of forcing gun owners to comply with the new laws, and (6) the costs to the economy, to businesses, and to Canadians in jobs lost."

Speaking in the House of Commons in support of a Reform motion to repeal Bill C-68, the Firearms Act, Breitkreuz said, "Here are the government’s own cost estimates: $66 million as of April 1, 1998 + $133.9 million for this fiscal year (1998/99) + $50-60 million a year in operating costs (forever). Even if the government estimates are right (remember when they were saying it was all supposed to cost just $85 million over 5 years), that’s a billion dollars by the year 2015!"

"Before Bill C-68 is implemented the government should tell the public the truth about the costs of gun registration. The public needs to know what the government’s priorities are:

• That’s $50-60 million a year that can not be used to fight organized crime
• That’s $50-60 million a year that can not be spent on a DNA data bank
• That’s $50-60 million a year that can not be spent to compensate victims of crime
• That’s $50-60 million a year that can not be spent to fight child pornography
• That’s $50-60 million a year that can not be spent to fight child prostitution
• That’s $50-60 million a year that can not be spent on crime prevention
• That’s $50-60 million on year that can not be spent to combat family violence
• That’s $50-60 million a year that can not be used to help police investigate hundreds of unsolved murders and sex offences

"Instead of these real criminal justice priorities, the government is spending $50-60 million a year to try and register between 18 and 24 million legally-owned rifles and shotguns that will do absolutely nothing to improve public safety or reduce the criminal use of firearms," declared Breitkreuz. "We know as people find out the true costs, how much taxes will increase and the cost of diverting police resources from more important duties. One poll showed support for registration of rifles and shotguns dropped from 86% to 43%. It’s time to quit deceiving Canadians."

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

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