NOTE:  Versions of this article also appeared in The Winnipeg Free Press, Montreal Gazette, Victoria Times Colonist, Halifax Daily News and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.

PUBLICATION:        The Ottawa Citizen

DATE:                         2004.11.28

EDITION:                    Final

SECTION:                  News

PAGE:                         A7

BYLINE:                     Tim Naumetz

SOURCE:                   The Ottawa Citizen

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MPs consider axing $20M out of gun registry budget: Justice committee to vote on diverting savings to RCMP

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The House of Commons justice committee will consider a Conservative proposal to slash $20 million from the federal gun registry when it passes final judgment on spending estimates for the Solicitor General's department this week.

Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz is confident of support from the New Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois for his motion to cut funding for the Canada Firearms Centre because of a companion motion he presented to the committee last week that would transfer the money to the RCMP for border security and forensic work.

"We should be taking this $20 million, and funding improvement of the number and effectiveness of our border-enforcement teams," Mr. Breitkreuz said.

He added the money would be better used if it goes to the RCMP to help the federal police force cope with a growing backlog of laboratory work on crimes. Mr. Breitkreuz said Mountie sources have told him as many as 340 repeat criminal offenders may be "on the loose" in Canada because RCMP labs have a backlog of 1,733 DNA cases.  "I'd like to see us increase funding to help the RCMP fight organized crime, biker gangs, and street gangs," the Saskatchewan MP told the justice committee.

He also noted 25 RCMP officers have been cut from the force's Manitoba highway patrol, while the RCMP division serving Alberta has 150 detachment vacancies.

Mr. Breitkreuz and Conservative MP Peter MacKay mounted a mini-filibuster in the justice committee last week to ensure separate motions to cut funding from the gun registry and then transfer the money to the RCMP would be dealt with at the same time.

The Conservatives believe the strategy will allow Conservative and Bloc MPs to support the two motions.

Conservatives say the NDP is divided over funding for the firearms program following NDP MP Joe Comartin's declaration of support for the registry earlier in the week. Mr. Comartin has support in his Windsor riding, but New Democrats in the Prairie provinces represent constituents who are hard-core opponents of the registry.

Liberal MP Roy Cullen, parliamentary secretary for Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, noted the government has already promised to limit the net cost of the registry to $85 million for the next fiscal year, once revenues from licensing and registration are taken into account.

As well, the government promised before the federal election last June that spending on the registry portion of the program would be capped at $25 million annually.