Then there's this little gem from farther in the article...

"The Tories promised to reinvest savings from scrapping the gun registry into hiring police and assisting victims of crime, but may find there is less cash available than meets the eye.

The gun program consumes about $90 million a year in direct costs while a single campaign promise to hire an additional 1,000 Mounties would add $50 million to the federal payroll."

By my math, that leaves $40 million in the coffers. And they say that's "less cash available"?

If the Canadian People's right to bear arms of all types were restored and they began carrying concealed, the crime rate would drop and there would be no need for the 1,000 new Mounties. Few seem willing to admit that a well armed society not only keeps down crime, but it does so at no expense to the public coffers - the individual citizens bear all the cost of equipment and practice. Even those who do not carry a weapon reap much of the benefits.

By my count then, they save all the 90 million, plus an additional dividend resulting from drastically reduced crime, IF they go all the way and respect the right of all citizens to armed self defense. That is to say nothing of the economic benefits of having the vibrant, multi billion dollar gun and shooting accessories industry which would arrise all on its own.

Furthermore when those workers currently wasting their efforts on a counterproductive registry are sacked, their human potential will be freed. Some of them might, theoretically at least, end up starting businesses, or otherwise productively employed, thereby resulting in a "productivity dividend" for the society as a whole.

Then there is the possible "entertainment dividend" to consider; The barking moonbat leftists would provide endless levity as they foam at the mouth and carry on in a generally silly, shouting dire predictions of a nationwide "Dodge City" and so on.

These benefits, monetary and otherwise, should not be altogether overlooked.