One of the groups fighting the federal government’s gun registry says it plans to ask the RCMP to charge industry minister Allan Rock with fraud under the criminal code. Rock was justice minister when the registry was created.
Bruce Hutton, founder of the 25,000 member Law-Abiding Unregistered Firearms Association, alleges Rock provided misleading, distorted and incorrect data to the House of Commons about the relationship between firearms and violent crimes.
Mark Carter, a law professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said ministers are regularly called to account for the legislation they help create.
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“If they’re misguided, the implications are political ones; the people will respond with their votes more than any kind of criminal proceeding.”
The recent auditor general’s report pegged the cost of the gun registry at $1 billion.
In the auditor’s report, RCMP admitted it is not confident about the reliability of the information provided to the registry and that guns could be going to people who do not qualify to own them.
In year-end interviews with the CBC, prime minister Jean Chrétien said he is determined to fix the problem, and noted some have already lost their jobs over it. He maintained the registry is an important tool for police.
Cost overruns at the registry were balanced by surpluses in other departments, he said.
Justice minister Martin Cauchon suspended spending on the program Dec. 12, after withdrawing a request for another $72 million in operating funds.
