Edmonton-St. Albert MP Brent Rathgeber proudly states that he will be voting to get rid of Canada’s long-gun registry on Sept. 22, even though the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Police Association, the Canadian Association of Police Boards and the RCMP all support the registry.
Unfortunately, Rathgeber doesn’t seem to have bothered to read the RCMP’s Canadian Firearm Program Evaluation Report that was emailed to MPs on Aug. 30, a highly informative report that answers many of his questions regarding the effectiveness of the registry. For example, if Rathgeber had read the report, he would have learned that the cost of maintaining Canada’s rifle and shotgun registration is about $3 million to $4 million a year.
He would have also discovered that in the opinion of Canada’s top law enforcement professionals, the registry provides law enforcement officers with critical information to track firearms when investigating gun crimes and gun smuggling, distinguish legally owned firearms from those illegally acquired and develop strategies to address safety risks before responding to a call. When gun owners are held accountable for their firearms, they are less likely to sell or give them to unlicensed individuals, thereby increasing safe storage and reducing the chance of theft.
Registration assists police in knowing what firearms to look for when enforcing prohibition orders and allows police to take preventative action, such as removing all firearms from situations of domestic violence. Information about registered firearms found at the scene of a crime supports criminal investigations and convictions. Police across Canada use the firearms registry nearly 10,000 times daily during investigations and for preventive action. Pretty good bang for $3 to $4 million bucks.
Make no mistake about it, the Conservative government’s attack on the long gun registry has nothing to do with fiscal responsibility or providing assistance to Canada’s police in carrying out their vital work and everything to do with playing to their political base.
K. Kordyback, St. Albert
