Public Accounts committee  That's right. The only things certain in life are death and taxes, and I'm working both sides. I want to use this occasion, Mr. Chair, with permission, to thank all of the colleagues I worked with at the Canada Firearms Centre for the hard and excellent work they did in a very d

Public Accounts committee  Even if we look at the Auditor General's report, at the work that's been done to verify the accuracy of registration information, in less than 0.5% or 0.1% of cases is the error significant to the classification of the firearm. So yes, there is work to do. As I said earlier, in

Public Accounts committee  I'm reluctant to say lack of resources because important amounts of public money were spent in delivering this program.

Public Accounts committee  It could have been a combination of resources and approaches to doing it.

Public Accounts committee  My first comment would be that the data isn't as problematic as has been suggested. There are problems with the data, but not nearly to the magnitude some have suggested. By and large--

Public Accounts committee  The decision goes back to roughly the year 2000. The first system was built at the outset of the Firearms Act, around 1995. It was judged by previous management that there were some limitations to the system--for instance, it was using some older technologies and approaches.

Public Accounts committee  The decisions to proceed with a second information system predate my time as commissioner. I can tell you--and there's certain evidence of that in the Auditor General's report--that at various times we stepped back and tried to assess whether this was still a wise investment deci

Public Accounts committee  I think there are two issues: one was the mechanisms that were in place to verify the data that came in, and secondly, the information system that was used. They are separate in many respects. I can say that when one looks at the history of the program, in particular, the deadli

Public Accounts committee  I think, with respect, the point is debatable. My view as commissioner at the time was that if we tried to engage in that kind of analysis and reporting without having confidence in the core data, we would run the risk of being ridiculed, given the incredible scrutiny that was

Public Accounts committee  Former. When we arrived, the new team, in 2003, we had a number of problems, frankly, including that we were still very heavy on the production cycle; that's number one. We had very little confidence in the basic data. Unless you know how many licences there are, how many regist

Public Accounts committee  I'm very happy to be here today to answers the committee's questions. It's probably worth underlining that as of May 17, I ceased to be commissioner of firearms. But I'm certainly here at your disposal to respond to items that occurred during the period during which I was commis

Public Safety committee  Yes, I have.

Public Safety committee  The questionnaire was developed a few years ago. From what I understand, experts in the area of violence were hired to determine public safety risk factors, such as one's marital or family situation, financial difficulties and so on. Since I arrived in 2003, the form hasn't been

Public Safety committee  I don't know, sir.

Public Safety committee  I imagine we'll have the opportunity to do so. From what I understand, some parts of the questionnaire are actually statutory requirements. We'll undoubtedly have an opportunity to review these requirements the next time the government decides to review the legislation and make a