But is it accurate? (en francais)

Over the last several years I've noticed the supporters of the Gun Registry have consistently used figures such as those quoted in this article. Tony Cannavino, president of the police association claims over 5,000 requests are made to the registry every day.

My question is, how many of those 5,000 requests are accurate? This is a statistic that you NEVER hear. There was a brief article last summer stating that a couple hundred thousand registry renewals had been returned as undeliverable.

With billions of dollars being spent, what number do you think would be acceptable? 80%, 90% 95%?

Garbage in, garbage out. Bad data in the system can be just as dangerous as no data. For some people, it could be potentially even more dangerous. Have you moved into a new house in the last six months? Any idea if the previous owner had weapons registered?

I'm sure all of us, especially the Liberals, are looking forward to Auditor-General Sheila Fraser's report on the registry. Riveting stuff.

Harper gets praise, criticism from cops
By JIM BROWN
It was another story on the long-gun registry - the controversial Liberal creation that requires all shotgun and rifle owners to register their weapons.

Harper made only a passing mention of that issue, promising to use the money saved by abolishing the registry to hire more police.

But Tony Cannavino, president of the police association, later told reporters his group opposes the Tory plan to kill the registry and will fight for its retention.

"It's an important tool for our police officers," said Cannavino. "We have over 5,000 queries (to the registry) every day."

The association will try to persuade the Harper government to change its mind and will also lobby opposition MPs, said Cannavino.

"We'll see what's going to happen . . . I still have hope."

The police association, which represents rank-file officers, is not the only group to voice concerns. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has also promised to lobby against the dismantling of the registry.

Justice Minister Vic Toews was unmoved, insisting that "the gun registry has nothing to do with getting tough on gun crime."

"The way to get guns off the streets is putting people in prison who actually use guns for illegal purposes. The gun registry has been a dismal failure, a waste of taxpayers' money and a waste of peace officers' time."

The Conservatives have promised to retain the handgun registry that has existed for some 70 years. But they have long opposed the long-gun component, which has been plagued by cost overruns that drove its price tag to an estimated $2 billion over the last decade. (emphasis added)

I also wanted to note that it is only the long gun component of the registry that is being dismantled. Many Canadians don't realize this when they hear about the issue.