Federal minister Jason Kenney answers questions about more money for inspection of Calgary firearms retailers
Since it was discovered in early May that 56 handguns had been stolen from Wholesale Sports and several had been recovered by police in gang-related incidents, SE Calgary News has been calling on the RCMP to increase funding for the inspection of firearms retailes in Alberta. Back in July, federal minister Jason Kenney promised to address the issue with Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan. At a town hall meeting yesterday, Mr. Kenney said he has done as promised and is receiving positive signals from the minister’s office. Money may become available for inspections once the long gun registry is finally cancelled, he said.
In August Minister Van Loan was in Calgary for an announcement. When asked by SE Calgary News about the handguns theft, the minister said he knew nothing about the issue. He suggested, not kindly, that I take up the matter with the RCMP.
So I did. The RCMP would not consent to an interview. Instead, they provided written comments that sounded like they were composed by one of those automatic translation applications, a combination of PR and bureaucratese. The Mounties argued that the Alberta provincial chief firearms officer, an RCMP agency, is provided a budget and can re-allocate monies if he wants to increase inspections.
In an earlier interiew, CFO Morris Sawchuk told me he is short on resources as it is and has no intention of diverting precious funding to complete more inspections of Calgary firearms inspections. This in spite of the fact the Calgary Police Service said at the time the theft was discovered that, in its opinion, all stores that sell restricted firearms should be inspected to ensure inventory management practices are up to snuff and there is no chance criminals could infiltrate the business, as they did with Wholesale Sports.
Talk about a Catch-22. It looked as if this important issue might stall. Now, after my interview with Minister Kenney Saturday, it appears there may be some progress after all.
But first, why is this issue important?
Because it gets to the heart of how Ottawa spends our taxes dollars and tries to keep us safe. Inspecting a sporting goods store isn’t expensive. I don’t know what it costs in real dollars, but I think it’s safe to assume that the amount is figured in the thousands of dollars, not hundreds of thousands.
Doesn’t it make sense to spend a few thousand dollars to ensure restricted handguns are safely locked away in the firearms retailers of this city than to spend millions hiring police officers to combat the problem after the guns are stolen and have found their way into the hands of gang members?
I know plenty of the illegal handguns in Calgary come from the United States. A few more inspections by the CFO isn’t going to suddenly dry up the handgun supply for crooks. I concede the point, made by some commenters on previous stories and columns.
But doesn’t it make a lot of sense to do the easy, less expensive things first? Why let potential problems go unchecked when for the want of a relatively small amount of money they can be fixed?
To his credit, Minister Kenney gets it. From our first interview on this subject he has understood the wisdom of inspecting all Alberta firearms retailers on a regular basis. And he’s done something about it. In addition to writing and speaking to Minister Van Loan, Mr. Kenney has also personally raised the issue with RCMP Commissioner William Elliott.
He also told me yesterday that just this past week his staff were contacting Mr. Van Loan’s office to follow up. I used to work in an MP’s office. Not all issues are followed up as diligently as others. It is heartening to see Mr. Kenney taking this issue seriously.
With the long gun registry on its death bed, Mr. Kenney says in the interview that money may be made available for increased inspections by provincial CFOs. He said that re-allocating the resources takes the emphasis away from hunting rifles and shotguns, and puts it squarely where it belongs, on handguns.
Mr. Kenney’s comments are encouraging. But the issue is far from settled. SECN will continue to follow this story and report on the federal government’s progress, or lack thereof. Stay tuned.
MP JASON KENNEY DISCUSSES INCREASED INSPECTIONS OF FIREARMS RETAILERS
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