A federal government document gives a window into the enormous cost of the long gun registry.

• In 1995, the Liberal government estimated the total cost of the gun registry to be $2 million.
• In May 2000, an Auditor General's report showed the costs were at least $327 million.
• By 2006, the costs had exceeded $1 billion.
• Two Library of Parliament studies from 2003 estimate that the enforcement and compliance costs are substantial, running into hundreds of millions of dollars.

The following is copied verbatim from the document above:

Crime Statistics

• There are nearly 7 million registered long-guns in Canada. Yet of 2,441 homicides recorded in Canada since mandatory long-gun registration was introduced in 2003, fewer than 2 percent (47) were committed with rifles and shotguns known to have been registered. (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics).
• Illegal smuggling by organized crime is by far the principal source of firearms on our streets. Indeed, the Vancouver police report that 97 percent of firearms seized in 2003 were illegal guns smuggled in from the United States, usually by organized crime (Vancouver Police, Strategic Plan 2004-08).

By: Lee Harding
Posted: April 28, 2010
Topic: Federal

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