Dr Fill A
02-14-2005, 10:20 AM
MISSING: THOUSANDS OF GUNS
02/10/05
BY MARK WEBER
Adviser staff writer
Renewed concerns over the national gun registry have been sparked with news that thousands of gun owners have been lost track of by the Canada Firearms Centre.
Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan confirmed last week that 46,000 gun possession licence renewals were returned as undeliverable to the Centre last year.
That means the where-abouts of 46,000 gun owners is now unknown, said Red Deer MP Bob Mills.
It’s another example of how the gun registry program in general isn’t working, he said.
“There are now 46,000 gun owners out there that the government had registered, however, now they have lost them,” he said.
The returned renewal notices for gun-possession licences were among more than 773,000 the Centre had mailed out.
“We don’t know if they still have the guns, where they are, or how to get a hold of them,” said Mills.
“No wonder front line police officers will never ever use this error-filled registry.”
But that notion is disputed by a spokesperson with the Canada Firearms Centre.
Irene Arseneau said some 2,000 law enforcement officials use the registry on a daily basis, or up to 15,000 each week – from right across the country.
She also said the information on it is regularly updated.
Still, the Centre will be doing follow-up on those returned renewal notices, she said.
And it’s important to point out that nine out of 10 renewal notices were successfully delivered, she said.
A spokesperson for Canada Post said the number of returns in this case isn’t unusual for such a large mail-out.
John Caines said the number of returned renewal notices amounted to about 6% of the total.
When upwards of 700,000 letters are sent out for any purpose, up to 10% returned as undeliverable wouldn’t be considered unusual, he said.
But Mills said news of the lack of accuracy in the system spells trouble for police heading to locations where they can’t be sure there may or may not be guns.
And clearly, dealing with gun registrations isn’t a typical kind of mail-out, said Mills.
And according to the Canada Firearms Act, gun owners must notify the Canada Firearms Centre of address changes or face criminal charges.
Costs for the controversial national gun registry, when first introduced, were pegged at $2 million.
Currently, they’re approaching $2 billion, said Mills.
Critics of the gun registry program have pointed out the money should be funneled into law enforcement.
“Just imagine what $2 billion could have done for policing in this country,” said Mills.
“Whether it is the RCMP or your local police force, this type of infusion of money into their budgets would have greatly helped in their hard fight against crime.”
mweber@reddeer.greatwest.ca
And still we have this collossal waste of tax payers money. It is an aggravation that only the eastern sheep can make a difference on. They look at it as more jobs instead of what it really is. Like many things the Liberals have done in the past decade or so it is rammed down our throat.
02/10/05
BY MARK WEBER
Adviser staff writer
Renewed concerns over the national gun registry have been sparked with news that thousands of gun owners have been lost track of by the Canada Firearms Centre.
Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan confirmed last week that 46,000 gun possession licence renewals were returned as undeliverable to the Centre last year.
That means the where-abouts of 46,000 gun owners is now unknown, said Red Deer MP Bob Mills.
It’s another example of how the gun registry program in general isn’t working, he said.
“There are now 46,000 gun owners out there that the government had registered, however, now they have lost them,” he said.
The returned renewal notices for gun-possession licences were among more than 773,000 the Centre had mailed out.
“We don’t know if they still have the guns, where they are, or how to get a hold of them,” said Mills.
“No wonder front line police officers will never ever use this error-filled registry.”
But that notion is disputed by a spokesperson with the Canada Firearms Centre.
Irene Arseneau said some 2,000 law enforcement officials use the registry on a daily basis, or up to 15,000 each week – from right across the country.
She also said the information on it is regularly updated.
Still, the Centre will be doing follow-up on those returned renewal notices, she said.
And it’s important to point out that nine out of 10 renewal notices were successfully delivered, she said.
A spokesperson for Canada Post said the number of returns in this case isn’t unusual for such a large mail-out.
John Caines said the number of returned renewal notices amounted to about 6% of the total.
When upwards of 700,000 letters are sent out for any purpose, up to 10% returned as undeliverable wouldn’t be considered unusual, he said.
But Mills said news of the lack of accuracy in the system spells trouble for police heading to locations where they can’t be sure there may or may not be guns.
And clearly, dealing with gun registrations isn’t a typical kind of mail-out, said Mills.
And according to the Canada Firearms Act, gun owners must notify the Canada Firearms Centre of address changes or face criminal charges.
Costs for the controversial national gun registry, when first introduced, were pegged at $2 million.
Currently, they’re approaching $2 billion, said Mills.
Critics of the gun registry program have pointed out the money should be funneled into law enforcement.
“Just imagine what $2 billion could have done for policing in this country,” said Mills.
“Whether it is the RCMP or your local police force, this type of infusion of money into their budgets would have greatly helped in their hard fight against crime.”
mweber@reddeer.greatwest.ca
And still we have this collossal waste of tax payers money. It is an aggravation that only the eastern sheep can make a difference on. They look at it as more jobs instead of what it really is. Like many things the Liberals have done in the past decade or so it is rammed down our throat.