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Versions of this article also appeared in the following papers: Toronto Sun - AUDIT TARGETS FIREARM REGISTRY COSTS 'OUT OF CONTROL' Edmonton Sun - REPORT TAKES AIM AT GUN REGISTRY Winnipeg Sun - REGISTRY WARNING ISSUED Ottawa Sun - EXTERNAL AUDIT BLASTS GUN REGISTRY PUBLICATION: The Calgary Sun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TORY MP SLAMS GUN CONTROL COST -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Costs for the controversial gun registry program could continue to "spiral out of control" unless the federal government takes critical steps to curb spending, an external audit warns. The financial report compiled by Hill and Knowlton for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, obtained under Access to Information by Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz, recommends the government shift the pricey Canada Firearms Centre to another larger department to wrestle down costs. The report from last April censors several key sections, including a list of areas of concern for "financial risk" and possible measures for improvement, but notes the issues must be carefully managed and decisions made urgently to achieve "cost containment" objectives. "Otherwise, the costs will continue to spiral out of control," the report warns. Recommendations include establishing centralized decision-making with a firm eye on the impact on cost, complexity and program deliverability. Breitkreuz called the report an "indictment" of a failed program that should be scrapped immediately. Slamming the reams of information that have been whited-out in the 40-page document, Breitkreuz said the censoring is a deliberate attempt to keep the public in the dark about a badly managed "fiasco." Originally pegged at $2 million, the cost of the entire gun registry program has ballooned to a staggering $2 billion by some estimates. Alex Swann, spokesman for Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, whose department oversees the program, said the concept of a centre with its own reporting regime is part of the government's commitment to "transparency" in accounting costs to Parliament. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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