NOTE:  Versions of this story also appeared in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix (A1/Front), Regina Leader Post (page A1/Front), Edmonton Journal (page A1/Front), Victoria Times-Colonist (page A1/Front), The National Post (page A4), Windsor Star (page A8), Vancouver Province (page A10), Montreal Gazette (page A14), Calgary Herald (page A4)

PUBLICATION:        The Ottawa Citizen

DATE:                         2004.05.17

EDITION:                    Final

SECTION:                  News

PAGE:                         A1 / Front

BYLINE:                     Tim Naumetz

SOURCE:                   The Ottawa Citizen

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

Majority want gun registry scrapped, poll reveals

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

A majority of Canadians of all political stripes firmly believe the federal government could fight crime better by scrapping its controversial gun registry and putting the money into other law enforcement priorities, a new poll suggests.

The poll, commissioned by Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz, found 61.6 per cent of Canadians who responded in a national telephone survey "strongly agree" the government should spend the money elsewhere.

A further 15.1 per cent "somewhat" agreed with the suggestion, prompting Mr. Breitkreuz to say in a statement he intends to release today that fully 76.7 per cent of Canadians across the entire political spectrum agree the registry should be scrapped.

"The Liberals are living in their own gun-control dreamland," Mr. Breitkreuz said when he released an advance copy of the poll results. "Canadian voters know that the gun registry isn't gun control, but for some inexplicable reason the Liberals just don't get it."

With a federal election expected to be called later this week, the Conservative survey, done by JMCK Polling of Calgary between April 25-30, may reignite anger in Western Canada and rural areas of Eastern Canada against the federal program.

The government is considering reforms to the gun-control program, including the possibility of taking registration offences out of the Criminal Code.

The poll summary did not specify how many of the respondents lived in urban or rural areas.

Conservatives reacted most favourably to the idea of shifting the money elsewhere.

Fully 78.4 per cent of respondents who identified themselves as Tory voters strongly agreed with the following question: "Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statement: The government could better fight violent crime by scrapping the $1-billion gun registry and redirecting the money to other law enforcement priorities?"

A further 13.3 per cent of Conservative voters agreed "somewhat" with the statement.

Among Liberal and NDP voters, however, the response was not as enthusiastic.

A slight majority of Liberals, 56 per cent, agreed strongly with the statement, while 15.2 per cent of Liberal voters somewhat agreed. Support was lower among NDP voters, with only 53.6 per cent strongly agreeing and 15.6 per cent somewhat agreeing. In Quebec, 59.3 per cent of voters who align themselves with the Bloc Quebecois supported the idea, while 14.2 per cent somewhat agreed.

Support for the registry increased with education levels. Fully 67.8 per cent of those with high school or less wanted to shift the money elsewhere, compared to only 52.6 per cent of those with a university education.

The polling firm interviewed 1,586 adult Canadians, giving the poll a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent 19 times out of 20 at the national level.

A slim majority of women, 55.6 per cent, agreed the government could fight crime better by spending in other areas, while 67.8 per cent of men agreed.

The survey also found majority support in all regions of the country.

Younger voters, however, tended to support the registry. Opposition grew with the age of respondents.

Only 46.2 per cent of those aged 18 to 29 strongly agreed the registry money could be better spent elsewhere to fight crime, compared to 60.4 per cent of those aged 30 to 44, 65 per cent of those aged 45 to 64 and 67.7 per cent of those older than 65.

The gun registry cost $1 billion to set up over the last 10 years and now has an annual budget of $115 million. With most of the lifetime registration complete, however, officials say roughly two-thirds of the annual expenditure is now directed toward licence screening and safety aspects.