There was something for almost every Canadian to be upset about in Auditor General Sheila Fraser's latest report. The audit reviewed the federal government's mismanagement of tax dollars related to military recruitment and training, the collection of tax debts, the distribution of grants, the management of programs for Aboriginal Canadians, and ongoing problems with the Canadian Firearms Program

Just to recap, back in 1995 Bill C-68 was passed into law by the federal government establishing the now infamous gun registry. Then Justice Minister Allan Rock told Canadians that a federal firearms registry would cost $119 million to operate but it would recoup an estimated $117 million in fees, for a net cost to taxpayers of $2 million.

The auditor's report detailed how rising gun registry costs were not reported to Parliament, thereby taking away the constitutional duty of Members of Parliament to oversee and approve the spending of tax money. The Canadian Firearms Program cost at the end of 2004 was $1.045-billion with only $99-million collected in fees. Taxpayers are now on the hook for $946-million, and Ottawa will spend another $82-million in 2005 and $83-million more in 2006.

To their credit, Manitoba's NDP government has repeatedly said they would not spend one cent of taxpayer's money to enforce the federal government's policy. In the wake of the latest auditor's report, Manitoba's Attorney General Gord Mackintosh went further and told reporters "the sooner we get rid of this boondoggle, the better."

However, Winnipeg's Chief of Police Jack Ewatski disagrees. Ewatski speaking for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police reaffirmed their support for the registry stating "the problems outlined by the Auditor General are about financial accountability in the past, not the current program or its value and effectiveness."

A curious statement considering statistics have shown the registry has had no measurable impact reducing gun crime. According to Statistics Canada in 2000 there were 184 homicides from shooting and in 2004 the number dropped slightly to 172.

Forcing duck hunters and farmers to register their long-guns did nothing more than take their hard earned money away from them. Fortunately the federal Conservative government acted swiftly in response to the auditor's report providing amnesty to long-gun owners. These guns will no longer have to be registered but owners must still carry a license to possess them. The CTF has also proposed the federal government immediately cut the program's annual funding. Those dollars are better spent on putting more police officers on the streets.

So what else could the over $1 billion wasted on the failed gun registry have done for crime prevention and public safety Here's a short list:
- $1 billion could have been used to allocate $3,235 more to investigate every violent crime committed in Canada in 2004.
- $1 billion could have paid for the entire operating budget of the City of Winnipeg's police department for 6 years.
- $1 billion could be used to pay for the running of all courts in Canada, with a cool $75 million left over -- enough to purchase 20 state of the art MRI machines.
- If getting guns off the street were really the government's intention, $1 billion would be better used to budget for 451 years of operating the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team, which has seized 2,000 illegal weapons.