Madam Speaker, on February 27 I asked a question of the government with respect to information I had obtained from a question on the order paper with respect to the use of firearms in the commission of violent crimes.
Statistics have shown that since 1994, when the Liberal government implemented the firearms registration act, the use of firearms in the commission of violent crimes has gone up. In the case of murders it has increased by 3%. In the case of attempted murders there has almost been a 20% increase in the use of firearms.
My question was with respect to the statistics that showed a trend of an increasing use of firearms in the commission of violent crimes, which was contrary to what the Liberal government predicted would happen when it implemented the bill. With respect to the enormous cost that is being incurred by taxpayers, should the government not admit now that it was a huge mistake and take measures to correct it by scrapping the legislation, ending the targeting and harassment of law abiding firearms owners, sports shooters, hunters, ranchers and farmers?
I did not receive an answer to that question so I will ask it again. In light of the statistics that demonstrate a trend in the opposite direction of the government's prediction that the firearms registration act would cause a decline in the use of firearms in the commission of violent crimes, should the government not admit that it does not work and that it is not achieving the desired result?
Some $800 million have been spent thus far and we are still a long way from full implementation of the program. The Liberal government promised, when it implemented the act in 1994, that it would only be $85 million, so the costs are ten-fold greater than what it said it would be. That large sum of money, $800 million, and any future money to be spent on the firearms registration act and its continued implementation could be directed to constructive uses.
For example, not taxing the money from Canadian taxpayers in the first place would be a tremendous boost to the economy and create jobs. Furthermore there is serious underfunding of some federal programs. We have a health care crisis with increasing waiting lists that could be partially remedied because part of the problem is lack of funds. Surely if that $800 million were to be injected into the health care system we would have some tangible and substantial benefits.
It could be put into infrastructure projects such as highways, bridges and road systems. With respect to the issue of crime we could have put that money into policing and had real and tangible results that would benefit our communities in terms of making them safer.
We have a drought on the prairies. Agriculture is in a perpetual state of crisis and $800 million would do a lot to alleviate the competitive disadvantage our farmers face against the unfair subsidies of our trading partners, the United States and Europe.
Should the Liberals not admit that it was a mistake and take the proper corrective measures now, stop the mandatory registration scheme and redirect those resources into more productive uses?