19. What did the Auditor General write about "gun control" in Canada?
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This article is from the can.talk.guns FAQ, by Skeeter Abell-Smith ab133@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca with numerous contributions by others.
19. What did the Auditor General write about "gun control" in Canada?
The Auditor General of Canada's report to the House of Commons in 1993
(re: "Gun Control Program", Assistant Auditor General: Richard B.
Fadden; Responsible Auditor: Alan Gilmore) contains the following:
27.20 Canada's gun control program is controversial and complex.
Evaluation of the program is therefore essential to give the Canadian
public and members of Parliament the assurance that its objectives are
being met. A more up-to date evaluation of the program is essential.
27.25 ... However, we found several weaknesses in the methodology,
which significantly reduce the extent to which government, members of
Parliament and the Canadian public can rely on the evaluation to be
assured that the gun control program is effective.
27.27 We calculated tests of significance on much of the of the data
found in the evaluation. These data included such things as the
percentage of firearms-related homicides before the introduction of the
legislation in 1978 and the percentage after. We found that many of the
observed differences in the data before 1978 and after could have
occurred by chance. More and different testing would be necessary before
these differences could be attributed to the 1978 legislation.
27.29 Our review of the new regulations indicated that important
data, needed to assess the potential benefits and future effectiveness
of the regulations, were not available at the time the regulations were
drafted. The government proceeded with new regulations for reasons of
public policy.
27.30 Because the data were not available when the regulations were
drafted, we believe it is important that the measures chosen by the
government be evaluated at the earliest opportunity. ...
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