NOTE:
Versions of this
article also appeared in: National Post(Page A4), Montreal Gazette(Page A10),
Saskatoon Star Phoenix(Page A6), Regina Leader Post(Page D8), Vancouver
Province(PageA13), Victoria Times Colonist(Page A5), and the Edmonton
Journal(Page A5).
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE:
2004.01.05
EDITION:
Final
SECTION: News
PAGE:
A1 / FRONT
BYLINE:
Mario Toneguzzi
SOURCE:
Calgary Herald
ILLUSTRATION:
Colour Photo: Al Koenig;
Photo: Jim Hinter, National Firearms Assoc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Police
union blasts gun registry: Koenig urges government to scrap program
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
union head of Calgary's front-line police officers is calling for the federal
government to scrap the billion-dollar gun registry because it has been a
colossal failure in reducing violent crime in the country.
Al Koenig, president of the Calgary Police
Association, said the vast amount of money spent on the firearms program could
have been much better put to use for front-line police officers in Canada.
He
said the program has had no effect on crime or acted in any way as a deterrent.
"Our position on this is very firm," said Koenig.
"We do not support it, and we will be fighting against it.
"The police and the public are still at risk. . . . Despite the money
spent, it should be scrapped."
Last
week, new federal Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan said the goal of the
program is to protect Canadians from violence without unnecessary spending. She
has launched a cabinet-level review of the gun registry to try to make it more
effective and cost-efficient.
In
November, federal government figures showed that the firearms registry could top
the $1-billion mark a year earlier than originally forecast. The most recent
government estimates showed the total program cost will rise to $814 million by
March.
Last
year, federal officials estimated the total cost of the registry, which was
originally budgeted at $2 million, would hit $1 billion sometime in 2005.
Jim
Hinter, president of the National Firearms Association, said "police, the
firearms community and the Canadian public are coming to the same conclusion:
this is a joke."
"It's
not doing anything to reduce crime," added Hinter. "We're seeing
increased home invasions and increased gang violence across the country. . . .
This (legislation) has nothing to do with crime and that was what the
legislation was sold to the public as."
For
instance, in Toronto, of the 65 homicides committed during 2003, guns were used
in 31 of them, or 48 per cent.
Hinter
said there have been "very minimal charges" across the country as a
result of the legislation that was "supposed to make society safer."
"If
they (federal government) can prove it reduces violence in the country, they
would have the absolute support of the firearms community," said Hinter.
Don
Stewart, spokesman for the Calgary Police Service, said that to the best of the
force's knowledge, there have been no charges laid this past year by police
specifically related to the new gun legislation.
Mahfooz
Kanwar, a criminologist and sociologist with Mount Royal College, said the
legislation will certainly have an impact on crime, especially murder. "Any
control on guns can help," said Kanwar. "I know people say guns don't
kill people, people kill people. But a gun does kill someone. . . . Fortunately,
our culture is not a gun culture like the Americans. Our culture is peaceful.
"Even if you trace one criminal because of the registry, it's worth
it."
David
Austin, spokesman for the Canada Firearms Centre, said about one million guns
remain unregistered in the country. He said the firearms program now has data on
almost seven million guns in Canada.
Austin
said police forces in Canada lay charges on a regular basis as a result of the
program and it is effective because it keeps guns away from people who could be
a danger to themselves and to others. "A goal of Canada's gun control
program is to prevent people who are a danger to themselves or others from
accessing firearms," states the Canada Firearms Centre website.
"This
is done in large part by registering firearms and issuing licences to their
owners, who play a fundamental role in the success of the firearms program.
Licensing works to ensure that high-risk individuals do not have access to
firearms while registration encourages responsible firearm ownership, provides
critical information to police investigations and helps curb illegal gun
trading."
As
of Dec. 6, the centre said it had 1.6 million firearm owners with at least one
registration certificate and 6.8 million firearms registered nationally.
mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com
--------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS
RELEASE - September 11, 2003
HOW
CAN POLICE USE A GUN REGISTRY MISSING GUNS FOR A MILLION GUN OWNERS?
“Using the Liberals’ 1976 estimates of the number of guns, fewer than 40% of the guns have been registered.”
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/GUNS92.htm
NEWS
RELEASE - November 5, 2003
DOMESTIC
HOMICIDES CONTINUE TO RISE DESPITE BILLION-DOLLAR GUN REGISTRY
“How
many lives could have been saved if the Liberals had spent this money addressing
the
root causes of domestic violence?” asked Breitkreuz
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns99.htm
NEWS
RELEASE - October 16, 2003
STATS
CAN HOMICIDE REPORT SHOWS RIGHT AND WRONG TARGET FOR SAVING LIVES
“The
number of people murdered went up so their billion-dollar gun registry didn’t
save any lives.”
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns95.htm
CALGARY HERALD COLUMN - Shooting down the gun registry: Does Paul Martin have the nerve to scrap a flawed and misguided program?
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/CalgaryHeraldColumn2003-12-17.pdf
VANCOUVER SUN COLUMN - Do gun laws really improve public safety?: Statistics show that violent crime in Canada is on the rise even as we do more to restrict firearms
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/Article216.htm
NEWS
RELEASE - October 29, 2003
FIREARMS
COMMISSIONER ADMITS HE DOESN’T KNOW HOW POLICE ARE USING THE GUN REGISTRY
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/guns98.htm
LIBERALS UNABLE TO DEFEND THEIR CLAIMS ABOUT POLICE USE OF THE GUN REGISTRY SYSTEM
http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/Article120.htm