The Firearms Act received royal assent December 5, 1995. To date, the government has expended $34.3 million on the implementation of this legislation. Monies expended to date have been utilized for the design and development of the new Canadian firearms registration system, CFRS, for the development of communications vehicles to make the requirements of the new legislation understood by firearms owners and for associated program administration and liaison costs with federal-provincial-territorial partners.
At the present time, 53 federal Department of Justice employees are working on the implementation of this statute at the Canadian firearms centre, CFC. The overall salary cost to date for 1997-98 is $1.9 million.
No federal employees would be involved in the administration of the Firearms Act within the provinces and territories under normal circumstances. However, in view of the position taken by the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, we are developing plans with the RCMP for the provision of administrative services within those jurisdictions. These plans are not yet complete and, accordingly, the specific resources required to perform the required work and costs related thereto are not known at this time.