ERRORS KEEP PILING UP IN THE GUN REGISTRY

By Garry Breitkreuz, MP – Updated: April 9, 2002

“The old gun registry was riddled with errors and so is the new one.”

NOTE #1: All errors in firearms licences and registration certificates should be reported to the Minister of Justice and the Auditor General of Canada. All errors that either violate your privacy rights or have the potential to do so should be reported to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Contact information is provided at the end of this document.

NOTE #2: The original list of errors was released on February 28, 2002:

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/breitkreuzgpress/GunControl57.htm

1. RCMP ADMIT THERE ARE 49,000 UNLICENCED OWNERS OF REGISTERED WEAPONS IN BC: Sources inside the RCMP advise that during "Violence and Relationships" courses delivered recently in British Columbia, the RCMP instructor told police officers that there are 49,000 individuals from BC in the Restricted Weapons Registration System (RWRS) that do not hold a valid Firearms Acquisition Certificate (FAC) and that they had also failed to apply for Possession and Acquisition Licences (PAL) as required by the Criminal Code of Canada. Despite being in unlawful possession of restricted and/or prohibited firearms, the RCMP officers were also told it was at the discretion of each officer whether or not to proceed with charges against these individuals. If they encounter one of these 49,000 owners of these registered, restricted and/or prohibited weapons, they have been instructed that the preferred course of action is: (1) Seize the firearm(s), (2) Advise the person to obtain a PAL at which time their firearm would be returned to them.

2. JUSTICE DEPT. DOCUMENTS SHOW ERROR RATES OF 71% TO 91% IN GUN REGISTRY: On March 19, 2002, the Department of Justice sent documents to Garry Breitkreuz, MP, in response to an Access to Information Act request (DoJ File: A-2000-0209. In “Background material to assist the Canadian Firearms Program Advisory Committee to advise Minister McLellan for the purpose of Submissions to Treasury Board or Social Union Committee” dated April 28, 2000 (page 3) titled, STATISTICS – LICENCES: 71% ERROR RATE – REGISTRATIONS 91% ERROR RATE.

Click here to see a copy of this document:

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/ErrorRatesLicencingRegistration.pdf

3. RCMP ADMIT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE BUT ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF GUN REGISTRATION PROCESSING: On March 15, 2002, in response to an Access to Information Act request, the RCMP advised they don’t have information on error rates in the gun registry and provided this explanation: “While final approval of an application rests with the Canadian Firearms Registry (CFR), much of the work associated with clarifying information is done prior to the data input, a task which falls outside of the RCMP and is under the control of the Canadian Firearms Centre.” This is a surprising development considering the RCMP has had 68-years of experience running the gun registry. How can the RCMP be responsible for issuing registration certificates that they don’t process?

Click here to see a copy of the RCMP letter:

http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/RCMPATIResponse2002-03-15.pdf

4. ALBERTA MP’s FIREARMS LICENCE SAYS HE’S A MORON FROM OKATOKS, ONTARIO: On April 4, 2002, Winnipeg Sun columnist Tom Brodbeck wrote: Canadian Alliance MP Grant Hill is no moron -- unless you listen to the pointy-headed bureaucrats at Ottawa's beleaguered firearm registry office. Hill, an Alberta MP, is a firearm owner. And he got the shock of his life recently when the gun registration people issued him a firearm licence. Hill's full name is Norman Grant Hill. But his newly issued gun licence read "Moron Grant Hill."

But Hill's troubles didn't end there. Not only was he a moron in the eyes of firearms officials, he also found out that, much to his surprise, he no longer lives in Alberta. Apparently he moved to Ontario and didn't even know it. Hill lives in Okotoks, Alta. But the bozos in Ottawa issued him a licence with an address in Okotoks, Ont. So the next time some moron holds up a bank, accidentally drops his firearm in the commission of the crime and leaves it behind, they can go looking for him in Okotoks, Ont.

5. AFTER 3 TRIES THE FIREARMS CENTRE STILL CAN’T GET HIS NAME RIGHT: On April 4, 2002, The Winnipeg Sun (Page 5) reported: Canada's new gun registration centre can't seem to get it right. Wolfram Fuhr, a 59-year-old retired electrician from Birds Hill, owns a .22-calibre rifle that he has tried to properly register three times -- each time unsuccessfully. "I've done everything I can to rectify the problem, but they don't seem interested or to care," said Fuhr. The problem for Fuhr is a spelling mistake in his name on the gun licence. "This registration system was a makeshift program for people who can't pass kindergarten," said Fuhr. "Can't these people read?" Fuhr said he spelled his name correctly on the registration form, which was compared for accuracy with his driver's licence, but was sent a gun licence with the last name "Fuhtr." When told of Fuhr's situation Canadian Firearms Centre spokesman David Austin said he would forward Fuhr's problem on to a customer service representative personally. "It should be right on his licence and right in our computer," said Austin. "We have customer service people here who can sort this out for him just like they did for the last guy." The last guy Austin is referring to is Paul Krawchuck. Last week, The Sun reported Krawchuk was having problems removing guns registered to his name that he didn't own. Like Fuhr, Krawchuk called the Canadian Firearms Centre two times before contacting The Sun. Both problems were looked into, after Austin was informed. Minutes after The Sun notified Austin yesterday of Fuhr's problem, Fuhr received a phone call from the centre offering to correct the problem at his convenience. "I've never seen anyone bend over backwards so fast. I can't believe it," said Fuhr. "For 1 1/2 years I've been arguing with them. It's crazy."

6. RCMP REGISTER FIVE GUNS TO A MAN WHO DOESN’T OWN THEM: On March 30, 2002, the Winnipeg Sun (Page 5) reported: The people in charge of registering Canada's firearms are under fire once again this month -- this time for registering guns that don't exist. "What kind of dummies are looking after gun registration?" asked Garden Grove resident Paul Krawchuk. "First they register a heating gun, then they register guns that I don't even own." Krawchuk received a letter from the federal government this week confirming the registration of four rifles and a .22-calibre handgun. The 34-year-old city recycling employee owns four black powder hunting rifles, but none is registered and they aren't the same kind as the ones that Ottawa has registered for him. "Why can't they get it right?" asked Krawchuk. "How many other guys out there are having messes like this?" Last week, Oak Lake resident Bill Buckley registered his soldering iron as a firearm to highlight glitches in the registration system.

7. RCMP REGISTER A BLACK & DECKER SOLDERING GUN: On March 1, 2002, Brian Buckley of Manitoba was issued with a Registration Certificate for his Black & Decker/Weller, 110 Volt AC soldering gun. The gurus in the gun registry identified it as a “Non-Restricted” firearm and gave it a “Firearm Identification Number”. This proves beyond any doubt that the government has completely abandoned any hope of keeping the Justice Minister’s promise to the Canadian Police Association that they would “verify” the accuracy of the information in the gun registration system.

Click here to see a copy of the Registration Certificate: http://www.cssa-cila.org/garryb/publications/SolderingGunRegistrationCertificate.pdf

8. BC MAN DISCOVERS RCMP REGISTERED SOMEONE ELSE’S GUNS TO HIM: On February 29, 2002, he wrote to the gurus in the gun registry, “Please be advised that the gun shown on the attached forms are NOT the ones I have or ever have had in my possession, and certainly not those I attempted to register some time ago. My original application form listed the following two rifles: 1. Lee-Enfield .303 calibre, Serial No. Dxxxxxx and 2. Cooey Model 39, Single Shot, .22 calibre, Serial No. unknown. Would you please correct your records and forward the proper registration certificates.”

9. GUN REGISTRY SYSTEM CAN’T IDENTIFY FIREARMS: On March 8, 2002, in a letter to the editor of the Alliston Herald , Peter E. Sticklee of Thornton, Ontario, wrote describing his call to the Canadian Firearms Centre to find out if he had to register one of his firearms: “On the first call, I waited for 20 minutes and then gave up. Later in the morning, I called again. After another 20 minutes, I hang up. On my third call of the day and after a 25-minute wait a person who identified herself as firearms officer took my call. When I described my firearm as a CO2 gas powered .380 shotgun, she didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. When I told her that it was a Model 1100 that was manufactured by Crosman (the famous pellet gun maker), she insisted that I was talking about a Remington Model 1100, Wingmaster 12-gauge shotgun. While the criminal misuse of firearms runs rampant in Canada’s major cities, law abiding gun owners either can’t get a call through to Ottawa, or at least find someone who knows what they are talking about, when it comes to something as simple as an air gun.”

10. RCMP REGISTER PROHIBITED AK47 AS A RESTRICTED FIREARM: On March 15, 2002, an Ontario firearms owner wrote: What happened to me was exactly the same than Mr. Charles Schafer i.e. I received a registration for my prohibited AK47 incorrectly (according to the CFC) classified as restricted. I am sure that this happened to hundreds of AK owners in Canada.

11. FIREARMS CENTRE HAS NO RECORD OF OVER HALF OF THE HANDGUNS IN NB MANS POSSESSION: On March 20, 2002, in the Moncton Times and Transcript , Columnist Everett Mosher wrote: Federal law requires all handgun owners to re-register their handgun or handguns by Dec. 31 of this year. If they do not, they will be considered a criminal and could face up to five years in prison. This, despite the fact that handgun owners have previously registered their firearms at the time of purchase, and have the registration certificate to prove it. So why is the federal government requiring that all handguns be re-registered? The truth is that the federal system of handgun registration that has been in place since 1934 is a mess, to the point that the government has decided to start all over again, from square one. Hence the requirement that current handgun owners are required to re-register their handguns. One owner of over 20 handguns, all legally registered at the time of purchase, found that the Canadian Firearm Centre had no record at all of over half of the handguns in his possession. Of those that the CFC had records of, and were listed in his name, several of these had never been in his possession, while others on the list had been sold some years previous. This is not an isolated case.

12. BC HANDGUN OWNER RECEIVED REGISTRATION CERTIFICATES WITHOUT EVEN APPLYING: On March 20, 2002, a respected firearm owner from British Columbia wrote: One fellow in our local club received new registrations for his pistols without even applying for them. I wonder how prevalent that is and the point being is that since the purpose of re-registration is to clean up the mess in the old registration, if they go sending out new forms based on the old forms they are perpetuating the old problems.

13. OTTAWA GUN OWNER EXPOSES CFC MISTAKES ON ALL SEVEN OF HIS REGISTRATION CERTIFICATES: On March 18, 2002, an Ottawa gun owner wrote: Between my wife and I, the firearms registry has data on seven firearms, including one since 1978. Every single registration certificate has at least one major error. Wrong type, wrong model, wrong maker, strange cartridge names, variable dimensions, spelling mistakes and so on. How the barrel of one gun "grew" from one certificate to another is a miracle indeed. All certificates have entries that cannot be found on the firearm itself. How will a false or fictitious record serve any purpose?

14. GUN WITH NO SERIAL NUMBER CAN’T BE IDENTIFIED BY $700 MILLION GUN REGISTRY: On April 8, 2002 a Calgary gun owner wrote: “You may be interested to know that I recently registered an unserialized Hiawatha .22 rimfire bolt rifle passed down by my grandfather. It was his farm pest gun, and was purchased some time in the 1950s or 60s. The CFC issued a certificate with the serial number designated as "unknown", but at the same time failed to issue an FIN sticker or any other identifying designation of any sort. Aside from its sentimental value, the gun is rather unremarkable "utility grade" piece, and I understand that up to several thousand of them were produced over the years, including numerous variants. My registration certificate can apply to any one of these firearms. As you have said, what a mess.”

CONTACT INFORMATION

The Honourable Martin Cauchon, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Justice

Room 312, West Block

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

Telephone: (613) 995-7691

Facsimile: (613) 995-0114

E-mail : Cauchon.M@parl.gc.ca

Mrs. Sheila Fraser

Auditor General of Canada

240 Sparks Street

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0G6

Telephone: (613) 995-3708

Facsimile: (613) 957-0474

E-mail: communications@oag-bvg.gc.ca

Mr. George Radwanski

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada

112 Kent Street

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 1H3

Phone (613) 995-8210

Toll-free 1-800-282-1376

Fax (613) 947-6850