Public Safety committee  It is not another matter. You are saying that an issue I am raising is another matter. In fact, it is the very same thing. The management of firearms—

Public Safety committee  But what will it cost? Have you calculated the cost?

Public Safety committee  Mrs. Mourani, I am asking you whether or not we could prosecute these people if we were to restore the gun registry. If so, how much would it cost?

Public Safety committee  Yes. That said, there is no way of proving whether murders would have been committed if they had not been revoked. Take for instance the situation which occurred in the Lac-Saint-Jean area last year. A request was issued to revoke the licence of someone who had psychiatric problems.

Public Safety committee  There are other means to arrive at the same results.

Public Safety committee  An individual with psychiatric problems can possess an unregistered firearm.

Public Safety committee  Mrs. Mourani, what I'm telling you is that it is not the registry that enables us to take away the firearm. Information may have been disclosed by a neighbour, by a spouse or by some other individuals. The withdrawal of a firearm is not necessarily triggered by the registry—the spouse may have denounced her husband, who has a firearm, and requested that it be seized—even though, according to the registry, we can see that a firearm has been withdrawn.

Public Safety committee  It's a matter of costs.

Public Safety committee  I think it is naive to think that it costs us $4 million to administer the registry. We are forgetting about two things. First of all, we are forgetting that it has not been updated for years. Secondly, we are forgetting about the cost of lawsuits. Let us not forget that the Firearms Act does not provide for the registration of firearms alone, but also for the legal prosecution of offenders.

Public Safety committee  I do understand, but if we were to take the law—

Public Safety committee  I worked for 15 years as a public safety senior official. The first thing police officers are taught in training is that they are responsible for their own safety. I fully agree with Professor Mauser: the murder of the four young police officers in western Canada was attributable to a professional mistake on their part.

Public Safety committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, parliamentary colleagues. As an introduction, I would like to begin by telling you a bit about my origins. I come from Abitibi-Témiscamingue. For those from the Canadian west or from territories located even further away, Abitibi-Témiscamingue is located in northwestern Quebec, and it is known primarily for hunting and fishing.