Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member has pointed out, the current fee is $50.
The actual cost to the police force for carrying out necessary investigations varies. It depends in part upon the exercise of the discretion of the investigating officers, the degree of risk.
It also depends sometimes on whether the investigations are being done in an urban or rural area because finding the referees in the urban area may be more difficult.
As the hon. member knows, the entire subject of firearms regulation is under review by the government at present. We are including in that review the process by which acquisition certificates are obtained. We will bear in mind the cost disparity to which the member has referred in completing our work on that subject.