NOTE:  Versions of this article also appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, Victoria Times Colonist, Windsor Star, Vancouver Sun, Edmonton Journal, Regina Leader Post.

PUBLICATION:  National Post

DATE:  2004.12.06

EDITION:  National

SECTION:  News

PAGE:  A1 / Front

BYLINE:  Bill Curry

SOURCE:  CanWest News Service

DATELINE:  OTTAWA

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MP sets sights on registry: Bid to stop gun program's funding divides Liberals

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OTTAWA - A Liberal MP, once a loyal supporter of Paul Martin, is taking on his own fragile government in an effort to stop the flow of money to the gun registry.

In the biggest test of the Liberal minority since the Throne Speech vote on Oct. 7, Sarnia-Lambton MP Roger Gallaway's motion would scrap a $97-million payment to the Canadian Firearms Centre, essentially killing the program.

All 99 Conservative MPs are expected to support Mr. Gallaway, while the 54 Bloc Quebecois MPs will likely back the government. Making the vote unpredictable, however, is that the Liberals and NDP are divided.

NDP MP Joe Comartin, who said he would have preferred a more symbolic budget cut and will not support Mr. Gallaway, predicted most of the 19 New Democratic MPs will side with the government. The rest of his colleagues are still debating the matter, he said.

"For me, the big question mark is how many of the Liberals are going to defect and vote against the government," said Mr. Comartin, who represents Windsor-Tecumseh.

"The best estimate I can give you at the moment is between 10 and 20 [out of 135 Liberal MPs]," he said.

The proposed cut represents about 85% of the registry's annual budget. Mr. Gallaway would not comment on the practical effect of his motion, but Mr. Comartin said he is certain its passage would kill the registry.

The motion will be voted upon on Thursday, when annual spending estimates of all departments come before Parliament.

Last week, the government admitted it will take at least three more years to fully implement the registry, or a total of 12 years after Parliament created it.  The new timetable means the program will have cost at least $1.4-billion by then, said Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz, who represents the Saskatchewan riding of Yorkton-Melville. The government originally promised the program would cost no more than $85-million.

Mr. Gallaway was one of the most outspoken agitators for Mr. Martin during the years of Liberal infighting under Jean Chretien, and was given responsibility for democratic reform when Mr. Martin became Prime Minister a year ago. But Mr. Gallaway found himself back on the backbenches after Mr. Martin's re-election.

Mr. Gallaway's biggest headlines during his time as parliamentary secretary came when he contradicted then-government House leader Jacques Saada as to whether a vote on an individual spending item such as the gun registry is a matter of confidence.

Mr. Gallaway said the registry would be fair game, while Mr. Saada warned of an election should such a motion pass. At the time, the Liberals had a majority and the debate was moot.

Now Mr. Gallaway is going to push his premise, confident Mr. Martin will not call an election over the registry. Mr. Gallaway said the government has had plenty of time to answer MPs' concerns about how the money is being spent, yet has failed to properly do so.

"I think we're entitled to a real explanation and we really have to quit spending money in this fashion," he said.

"We've had a lot of promises of change but I really don't have any time for those promises anymore. It's been nine years and it just keeps going. "It never stops."

Mr. Saada's replacement in the House leader's office, Tony Valeri, said he wants to wait until tomorrow's deadline for such motions before deciding whether to threaten an election or not.

In addition to the motion from Mr. Gallaway, the House will also have to deal with two changes made by MPs in the government operations committee, which surprised many by slashing $417,100 from the Governor-General's budget and $127,223 from the mighty Privy Council Office.

In 2002, the Liberals capitulated to a Conservative motion blocking a $72-million funding request for the gun registry. It came on the heels of Auditor-General Sheila Fraser's blistering report describing the program as having the "largest cost overrun we've ever seen."

But the Liberals argued they were only delaying the money in light of the Auditor-General's report, and put forward more funding at a later date.