From the Toronto Star: $1B gun registry branded `useless’.  And some critics think the true cost is pushing $2 B now.  The proponents have been feeding the monster money “under the table”.  Alphecca has quotes and an analysis of the Star article.  One thing he didn’t mention was this:

Alex Swann, spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, who is responsible for public safety and emergency preparedness, defended the registry.

“Obviously, no measure can strip away all risk in society, but the gun registry is a frequently used tool for police,” Swann said.

He said he could not discuss Roszko’s specific case, but emphasized gun registration ensures accountability for guns, and tightens ownership. That can help track the transport of guns, he said, including whether legally registered guns are moving into the hands of those who are not licensed.

Swann said police make about 2,000 queries on the firearms database every day.

Two thousand queries a day does not make people safer.  The only valid objective of restrictions on firearms ownership is to make people safer.  The defenders of the registry don’t make that claim.  Reporters and the general public should be asking just one question.  When the defenders of the registry stammer, pause, and avoid the question they should be given the same sort of treatment one would give any other con artist that defrauds the public of over a billion dollars.  The Canadian people wasted that money in an experiment to answer a question.  We have the answer now.  Let just hope the politicians in this country can learn from the billion dollar mistakes of others.