AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT

Devolin Column (May 18, 2006) 

I want to start this article by saying what an exciting week this has been in on Parliament Hill – specifically related to the federal long gun registry. First, Auditor General Sheila Fraser released her latest report -her first since the Conservative government came to power earlier this year. The main section of this report relates to the true costs of the controversial gun registry and the great lengths the former Liberal government went to cover it up. 

According to Fraser, the Department of Justice failed to record an expenditure of up to $39 million in 2002-03 and Parliament was misinformed about the Centre’s costs for that year. The Centre’s actual spending was up to $17.1 million higher than $110.2 million limit for the Centre’s budget. 
In addition to the 137-page main report, Fraser issued a separate 25-page report on the registry to detail the way senior bureaucrats buried the cost of the gun registry.
First of all, I’d like to thank the Auditor General for her fine work in her latest report. As with her reports in the past, she has once again shone a light on serious abuses. 

Second and this is something that is even more disturbing, the Auditor General also illustrates how the Liberal government kept Parliament, and all Canadians, in the dark about these costs.
Then yesterday, Minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day, announced significant changes to the Canadian Firearms Program. Taking quick action and following through on yet another campaign promise, our government announced it will introduce a bill to end the registration requirement for long guns. However, it will require Parliament’s approval to become law and in a minority parliament, totally repealing the long gun registry will take time. But many of the most important changes have already been made to protect lawful long gun owners. 

The government has:
· Waived the fee to renew a firearms license until May 17, 2007 and is acting to automatically refund license renewal fees already paid;
· Introduced a one-year amnesty so previously-licensed owners of non-restricted firearms can register their guns or renew their licenses without threat of criminal prosecution;
· Transferred responsibility for the Firearms Act and regulations to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police;
· Reduced the annual operating budget for the program by $10 million;
· Eliminated physical verification of non-restricted firearms.

I’m extremely proud of the direction Canada’s new government has taken. The current system is broken, and I’m sure many of you are wondering why an amnesty is necessary. Simply, tens of thousands of licenses are not being renewed even though individuals continue to possess these firearms. 
If you apply for a license now you will still have to pay a fee if this is your first license under the Firearms Act but you will not have to pay the fee to renew an existing license, replace an expired license or change your license privileges. 

For those who have paid to renew your license or upgrade your license privileges you will get a refund if your license was issued, but if your application was refused, you will not get your refund. Having said that, please recognize it will likely take a few months to determine who is eligible for a refund and to issue a cheque. The refund will then be mailed to the address indicated in the Firearms Centre’s records.