Canada: "Federal gun registry cost to hit $1 billion by 2005"

[cuchulainn]

from the London Free Press

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2003/11/25/267423.html

Federal gun registry cost to hit $1 billion by 2005

MARIA MCCLINTOCK, Free Press Parliamentary Bureau

OTTAWA -- The cost of the problem-plagued federal gun control program will hit the $1-billion mark by 2005, the head of the firearms centre admitted yesterday. "Sometime in '04-05 the costs of the program will hit the $1 billion, as projected," David Austin said yesterday.

It's the first time the government has confirmed the controversial price tag will become a reality.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser predicted the huge expenditure in a scathing report issue last December.

But Austin disputed suggestions by Alliance MP Garry Breitkreuz that the program would reach the $1-billion mark by the end of March 2004 -- a year earlier than expected.

Breitkreuz said he based his claim on new figures outlined in the Justice Department's performance report, which was released earlier this month.

The report shows there has been $47.2 million in "indirect" costs for the firearms program during the last seven years -- costs picked up by other government departments.

The indirect costs have never been publicly reported, one of Fraser's criticisms.

The $47.2 million is in addition to the $766.6 million in direct costs the Justice Department reported by the end of March 2003.

The federal government has budgeted another $128 million for the program for this year -- bringing the overall price tag of the program to $941 million.

But Breitkreuz argues there are still future costs that haven't been estimated that will easily bring up the overall tally.

"This tells us the thing is out of control beyond what the government even led us to believe originally. The spending on this thing is considerably worse than the auditor general found."

Copyright © The London Free Press 2003

 

[SDC]

They passed 1 billion a LONG time ago; the only reason they can claim they haven't hit 1 billion YET is because so much money was spent "off-budget", out of other department's funds (like the RCMP's).

 

[JackM]

Garry Breitkreuz is just listing what he has hard numbers on. He's got some pretty good ideas where a lot more money went.
http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/breitkreuzgpress/guns102.htm

Bye
Jack

 

[JackM]

Garry finds another $300 million.

http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/breitkreuzgpress/guns103.htm

Bye
Jack

 

[JohnBT]

How much does that amount to in real money, eh?

JT

 

[JackM]

For some inexpiable reason the loonie went from 62 cents US early this summer to 76 cents now. Which means the dealers are sitting on tons of stock they bought with 62 cent loonies, and there's no deals. It's worth it to buy anything they'll lets across the border from the states, but guns & powder & primers are too much of a hassle. Not that Chrétien left us with any spare change.

Bye
Jack

 

[JohnBT]

Thanks. I hadn't realized it had made that big a move. We have a problem with the government hogging all the money, too.

John

 

[twoblink]

I think they meant to say "$1Billion We can currently confirm"..

"How to endanger lives and screw the tax payers out of $1Billion.. The guidebook.."

This is the book Hillary is trying to co-author right??

 

[JackM]

I think they meant to say "$1Billion We can currently confirm"..

That's about it. It's getting really bad when a Member of Parliament can't get at the books through a Freedom of Information request.

Bye
Jack

 

[Hazwaste]

So how many crimes have been solved using the gun registry?