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The long-gun registry: Costs and crime statistics

Costs

• In 1995, the previous government told Parliament that the firearms program, most specifically the long-gun registry, would involve a net cost of just $2 million (Auditor General’s Report 2002, Chapter 10).
• In May 2000, the previous government admitted that the costs had actually ballooned to at least $327 million (Auditor General’s Report 2002, Chapter 10).
• By March 2005 the net cost of the firearms program was $946 million. Today they exceed $1 billion. The Auditor General states that Parliament was misinformed about many of these costs. (Auditor General’s Report 2006, Chapter 4).
• Neither the costs incurred by provincial and territorial agencies in enforcing the legislation, nor the costs borne by Firearms owners and businesses to comply with the legislation have been calculated. (Auditor General’s Report 2002, Chapter 10).
• Two Library of Parliament studies estimate that the enforcement and compliance costs are substantial, running into hundreds of millions of dollars. (Compliance Costs of Firearms Registration, 10 October 2003; and, Estimates of Some of the Costs of Enforcing the Firearms Act, 20 March 2003).

 Crime Statistics

• There are nearly 7 million registered long-guns in Canada. Yet of 549 murders recorded in Canada in 2003, only 2 were committed with long-guns known to be registered (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics).