NOTE: Versions of this article also appeared in: The Regina Leader Post and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE:
2003.09.09
EDITION:
Final
SECTION:
News
PAGE:
A3
BYLINE:
Tim Naumetz
SOURCE:
The Ottawa Citizen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Firearms
registry verifies 15,068 guns over phone: Program doesn't force owners to have
guns checked in person
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More
than 15,000 registered firearms have been verified over the telephone rather
than in person, according to new information that Canadian Alliance MP Garry
Breitkreuz says throws the integrity of the federal gun program into question.
Mr.
Breitkreuz obtained up-to-date data from the RCMP over the summer that revealed
that identifying information about 15,068 rifles and shotguns had been verified
by phone.
That
means the chief firearms registrar relied exclusively on buyers and sellers to
ensure the description of the gun being registered actually matched the details
of the weapon, such as the serial number, the action of the firearm and its
barrel length.
A
further 1.4 million firearms were verified in person, either by recognized
verifiers or local registrars.
But
that leaves 5.1 million guns that have been registered under the new program,
but not verified for their identity, according to the documents.
Mr.
Breitkreuz said gun registry officials have no way of knowing whether the guns
registered by phone -- all of which are non-restricted rifles and shotguns --
are the ones owners and sellers claim they are.
"It's
absurd," said Mr. Breitkreuz, who obtained the information under the Access
to Information Act. "You cannot register a firearm unless it's in your
hands and you can see the information on the firearm."
A
spokesman for the Canada Firearms Centre pointed out only non-restricted
firearms -- sport and hunting rifles and shotguns -- can be verified over the
phone, and all guns must match the details contained for the models in a
firearms reference table. The table is a computerized listing of matching
information for all gun types sold and distributed in the country. In the case
of gun transfers, both the buyer and seller contact the registrar and,
obviously, their descriptions must match before the transaction is approved.
The
government adopted a procedure in 1998, when the registry took effect, that
allowed verification of some firearms over the phone, said spokesman David
Austin, noting the government has no regulations requiring in-person
verification of firearms.
Mr.
Breitkreuz also obtained information from the RCMP that shows a sharp hike in
the number of stolen firearms in Canada last year after three consecutive years
of decline following the introduction of the gun-control program in 1998.
The
number of stolen guns totalled 3,613 in 1998, then 3,378 the following year and
2,733 in 2000. By 2001, the number of stolen firearms had dropped to 2,706, but
spiked to 4,090 last year.
Mr.
Breitkreuz argued the information suggests the government's claim that the
registry would help control and recover stolen guns is false.
-----------------------------------------------------
BREITKREUZ'S
ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT REQUEST - DATED JULY 8, 2003
"Please
provide copies of reports showing the total number of non-restricted, restricted
and prohibited firearms in the Canadian Firearms Registry that have been
verified by an approved verifier including the number that have been verified
in-person and the number that have been verified over the phone."
RCMP
RESPONSE - ATIP2003-26561 - DATED AUGUST 20, 2003 (Received: September 4, 2003)
Verified
in person:
-
non-restricted: 803,363
-
restricted: 94,518
-
prohibited: 52,230
Verified
through telephone assistance:
-
non-restricted: 15,068
Firearms
verified by local Registrar (in person)
-
restricted: 294,693
-
prohibited: 169,542
In
addition to the above, the CFC has performed quality assurance measures by
confirming descriptions of previously verified firearms:
-
restricted: 8,243
-
prohibited: 2,382
Telephone
assisted verification, in some instances also occurs through a variety of other
means including technical personnel in the Firearms Registry and the RCMP Lab
however there are no statistics available for this activity.
------------------------------------------
NUMBER
OF REGISTERED FIREARMS THAT HAVE BEEN “VERIFIED” – 1,081,589
Documented
as of: January 23, 2003
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns73.htm
STATUS OF FIREARMS “VERIFIER NETWORK”
Updated:
May 30, 2003
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/firearmsfacts.htm
WHY ALL INFORMATION IN THE GUN REGISTRY MUST BE “VERIFIED” AS ACCURATE!