PUBLICATION:              Windsor Star

DATE:                         2004.01.14

EDITION:                    Final

SECTION:                  EDITORIAL

PAGE:                         A6

SOURCE:                   Windsor Star

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rifle registry; One option for supporters

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The head of a major Canadian police union has joined the list of critics who oppose Ottawa's rifle and shotgun registry. Al Koenig, president of the Calgary Police Association, said his union "will be fighting against" the money-wasting registry and demand that it be scrapped.

Koenig's opposition to the registry is understandable. When the registry was established in 1995, it was supposed to have a net cost of only $2 million. But the bill to taxpayers will soon reach $1 billion -- that's even a year earlier than Sheila Fraser, Canada's auditor general had warned.

Besides the registry's massive cost overruns, it also targets law-abiding gun owners and hunters, as opposed to criminals with illegal weapons. In Koenig's opinion, the gun registry has not been a deterrent to crime and the "police and public are still at risk."

However, the gun registry's long list of failures still hasn't convinced all police groups and unions that the controversial program should be shut down.

Last year, the Canadian Police Association -- which represented 28,000 front-line police officers -- publicly endorsed the gun registry. David Griffin, the association's executive officer, said the registry was a welcome tool to help fight gun crime. Mike Niebudek, the association's vice-president, said the registry had made it easier for police to track down illegal weapons.

As well, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has said that the rifle and shotgun registry helps police track illegal guns, reduces the misuse of guns and makes gun owners more accountable for their weapons.

If the chiefs and police association truly believe the rifle and shotgun registry hasn't been a costly expense for taxpayers -- and is worth its billion-dollar price tag -- then they should literally put their money where their mouths are. The chiefs and police association could do that by taking over the cost of running the registry. The money would come from existing police budgets.

And if the chiefs and police association don't think the rifle and shotgun registry is worth that investment, then they should join other Canadians who want this ineffective and wasteful program shut down as soon as possible.