It was a measure of the chaos that has enveloped Ottawa’s gun
registration scheme that the government decided last week not to debate
and approve legislation aimed at helping tighten some of the controls
in the system.
Bill C-10A would create a commissioner of firearms within the justice
department and transfer responsibility for gun registration from the
RCMP to the department.
Auditor general Sheila Fraser noted in her report, which exposed
financial flaws in the gun registration system, that the new law was
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federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
part of the government plan to try to assert control over the program.
“The department stated that its lack of direct control was a major
cause of the program implementation difficulties and the reason why the
program focused on regulation and enforcement of controls rather than
on high-risk owners,” she wrote.
The government initially said it wanted the legislation passed into law
by the end of the year, when registration is supposed to be universal.
The bill, sent back to the House of Commons from the Senate, was
introduced for debate Dec. 6 with a plea that it be passed by MPs
before Parliament adjourned Dec. 13 for six weeks.
“We should keep in mind that this is not a time for delay,” said
Liberal MP Paul Macklin, parliamentary secretary to the justice
minister.
But then the government decided not to call the bill for further debate
last week and it remains in limbo.
Opposition MPs said the government retreated because it did not want to
give MPs another platform to slam the gun registration plan and its
expected $1 billion price tag. It also was not certain that all rural
Liberal MPs would vote for the bill.
Manitoba Canadian Alliance MP Howard Hilstrom, the only one to speak
during the Dec. 6 debate, signalled the CA would take full advantage of
the platform to keep the “billion dollar boondoggle” in the headlines.
“I know that Canadians, both gun owners and non-gun owners, have not
given up the battle to have this legislation repealed,” he said.
