Grimes refuses to enforce gun law

Newfoundland has become the latest province to refuse to prosecute gun owners who don't register their weapons.

Premier Roger Grimes drew a loud round of applause Friday night in Stephenville when he said the federal government can enforce the law itself.

He says provincial conservation officers will continue to go after people who violate hunting regulations.

But he says the province will not enforce a law that it does not agree with.

Recently New Brunswick made the same decision.

In that province, Premier Bernard Lord said the federal government should abandon the gun registry altogether since a majority of provinces have refused to prosecute violations.

Grimes didn't go that far in his statement.

N.B. joins provinces that won't prosecute gun registry offences (NB-Gun-Prosecution) - Aug 22, 2003 13:37

Source: The Canadian Press </fpweb/fp.dll/htm/sourceinfo.htm/_SourceInfo.Source/CP>
 

ST. ANDREWS, N.B. (CP) _ New Brunswick has joined a long list of provinces that will not prosecute charges under the much-maligned federal gun registration law.

Premier Bernard Lord and Attorney General Brad Green said Friday the federal gun registration program has been an abject failure and the province will have no part of prosecutions under its questionable law.

``This is an example where many provinces have decided this is a failed experiment, a waste of money and it must end,'' Lord said following a Conservative caucus meeting in the seaside resort town of St. Andrews.

``We don't want to perpetuate this waste of taxpayers' dollars.''

Lord and Green said a majority of provinces have now decided to opt out of gun registration prosecutions, sending what should be a clear message of non-compliance to Ottawa.

``It (gun registration) should be abandoned by the federal government,'' said Lord.

``They should put the resources to better use, such as health care funding, education funding and innovation investments.''

The beleaguered gun registry, which has been criticized for administrative problems and enormous cost overruns, has never been accepted in New Brunswick.

The province has been home to the firearms registration centre, but it also has one of the highest per capita concentrations of hunters and gun owners in Canada.

``Hunting is part of our way of life,'' Lord said.

The cost of the gun registry has ballooned to more than $1 billion, making it a focus of criticism from the federal auditor general.

The law is also under attack in seven other provinces and territories that refuse to prosecute those who fail to register rifles or shotguns, including British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Alberta.

Victoria won't enforce firearms act: A-G

B.C. has joined five other Canadian provinces that will not prosecute firearm owners for failing to register their guns as required under the contentious federal Firearms Act.

Attorney-General Geoff Plant said Thursday the firearms registry is an "unmitigated disaster" and the province has made its views clear to the federal government.

"There are some offences in the Criminal Code that relate to failure to register -- we will examine those on a case-by-case basis -- but if they are related only to the fact of non-registration then our view is that those are a matter for the federal government to pursue under the Firearms Act," Plant said.

B.C. joins Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nova Scotia and Ontario in refusing to prosecute Firearms Act registration offences.

"I think it's a disaster, an unmitigated disaster. It's a vast public expenditure for no apparent public return," Plant said of the $1-billion registry that was initially estimated to cost $2 million.

"It is astonishing to me that over a billion dollars could be spent for the primary purpose, apparently, of essentially criminalizing people who are otherwise the lawful owners of rifles, shotguns and those sorts of things."

Nova Scotia and Ontario announced their positions on the registry June 3.

"This is not a useful piece of legislation. Our prosecutors have lots of work to do, and we would sooner see them doing things which we think are more important to public safety," said Nova Scotia Justice Minister Jamie Muir.

"They should take the responsibility for a badly flawed piece of legislation, which really persecutes the wrong people, innocent people, good people who want to use long firearms for hunting and recreational use," said Ontario Attorney-General Norm Sterling.

The gun registration law, Bill C-68, was implemented eight years ago. According to the most recent estimates released by the Canadian Firearms Centre, approximately 500,000 people across the country have not yet registered their long guns.

Bill C-68 requires registration of all firearms including shotguns and rifles. Licences are also required to own and buy firearms and ammunition.