PUBLICATION:
The
Windsor Star
DATE:
2004.12.08
EDITION:
Final
SECTION:
Editorial/Opinion
PAGE:
A6
SOURCE:
Windsor Star
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Gun
registry: Time to fold the boondoggle
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NDP
MP Joe Comartin has signalled his intention to vote against a motion Thursday
that would nix a $97-million payment to the Canadian Firearms Centre. Comartin,
who recently argued the bloated rifle and shotgun registry deserved government
funding because it made for safer streets, should reconsider.
Pumping
more dollars into a billion-dollar sinkhole that was originally supposed to cost
taxpayers $2 million would be a bad idea even if the registry was run
efficiently and actually reduced violent crime in Canada. But wasting more tax
dollars propping up a program that can't even meet its stated objectives borders
on the irresponsible and absurd.
It
was revealed late last month the registry was missing out on more than $46
million in fees because it was giving away 777,000 free licence renewals to
lessen the burden on bureaucrats bogged down with paperwork. And it was revealed
last week the program won't be fully operational until 2007, some 12 years after
being approved by Parliament.
These
are simply the latest in a string of embarrassing gaffes to hit the
dysfunctional registry, which is being used by a U.S. firm as a case study in
incompetence and financial mismanagement.
"What
was supposed to be a relatively modest information technology project ballooned
into a massive undertaking," Baseline magazine wrote in the study.
"At
last count, the program had amassed more than $1 billion in costs, and the
system has become so cumbersome that an independent review board recommended
that it be scrapped."
Comartin's
vote could prove crucial for the gun registry's future, considering the minority
Liberal government is split on the issue and the funding motion came from a
Liberal MP. He should exercise it wisely and vote in favour of scrapping the
additional funding.
Not
a single additional tax dollar should be spent registering the rifles and
long-guns used by Canada's hunters, farmers, rural residents and First Nations
members who live off the land. Too much has already been spent and more will be
wasted unless the program is scrapped once and for all.
The
registry makes criminals out of law-abiding citizens. It doesn't target violent
criminals. How could it? Criminals don't register guns. Handguns have been
registered in this country since 1934 but are still commonly used by criminals
and thugs to kill and maim innocent civilians. The money wasted on the long-gun
registry would have been far better spent cracking down on gun smuggling from
the United States.
Comartin
argued the registry is a boon for police officers because it enabled them to
check out whether a residence they planned to enter had guns in it. If every
weapon in Canada was registered -- including illegal weapons owned by criminals
-- and the registry had a flawless history, Comartin might have a point. As it
is, only an extremely brave or extremely stupid police officer would rely on
registry data with his or her life on the line.
If
police forces truly believe a list of rifle-toting farmers and hunters will help
them fight crime and protect officers, they should offer to pay for the registry
from their existing budgets at no increased cost to taxpayers.
It's
time for Comartin and every other politician in Canada to admit what's obvious:
The rifle and shotgun registry hasn't made Canada safer and the registry isn't
even about safety at all.
It's
about nothing but base politics. It's about winning votes in metropolitan
centres at the expense of Canada's rural residents.
It's time to end this
expensive charade.