Kirk930

A quick search found this:

In 2007, it was estimated that 3,045 individuals were killed in motor vehicle crashes in Canada. MADD Canada estimates that at a minimum 1,239 of these fatalities were impairment-related. Moreover, in MADD Canada's opinion, the 1,239 figure is a conservative estimate, due to the underreporting that results from the inability to test surviving impaired drivers and reliance on police reports.

In 2007, it was estimated that about 359,310 individuals were injured in motor vehicle crashes. MADD Canada estimates that approximately 73,120 of these individuals were injured in impaired driving crashes (roughly 200 per day). Note that this figure is limited to motor vehicle crashes only.

In 2007, it was estimated that approximately 1,979,250 motor vehicles were involved in property damage crashes in Canada. Of these, MADD Canada estimates that approximately 210,006 involved impaired driving (roughly 575 per day). Note that this estimate is limited to motor vehicle crashes only.

Depending on the model used, the cost of impaired driving crashes in Canada has been estimated to range from 2.2 billion dollars (real dollar model) to 12.6 billion dollars (willingness to pay model). The real dollar model is based on the money spent, without considering any social costs. In contrast, the willingness to pay model includes money spent and a broad range of society-related costs. Again, these figures are limited to motor vehicle crashes.

JimV8

A Long Gun Registry is a good idea. It's the implementation and criminalization of non compliance that sucks. You may recall it was never intended to be a federal program, but rather standardized by the feds but administered provincially. Politics gets in the way and when the western provinces bailed the feds begrudgingly stepped in to run the thing.

The Montreal Ecole Polytechnique shootings was the impetus behind the registry but it was Mrs. DeVilliers who was the driving force. Her daughter Nina was jogging on the south service road in Burlington and was forced into a car driven by Jonathan Yeo. Her body was found along side hwy 401 by Kingston. Yeo carried on to New Brunswick where he murdered one maybe more women. He was intercepted by police in Hamilton and avoided capture by swallowing the barrel of the 22 cal rifle he was carrying. Mrs. DeVilliers devoted all her energy to doing something about the lax rules regarding long barrel guns and made it an election issue that the Liberals couldn't ignore.

SeanR

Scary things aren't they

petee1997

10 million is chump change in a country of 33 million.


As far DUI deaths I agree that is a serious problem that should be addressed more forcefully. Penalties should be increased to manslaughter for convictions.

AllanJ

$10 million is a waste of money on a program that does nothing to save lives. It's simply a "feel good" program for the uninformed and criminalizes decent people when it comes to paperwork errors. FAIL on all counts.

Of the approx 160-170 firearms-related homicides each year, the vast majority of those would be gang related. The few remaining would be innocent people. I don't have a source handy, but hardly any homicides are committed with registered firearms. We're talking about illegal firearms here that the media and certain politicians parade about and say how a registry will fix things. It won't and the low crime rate with legally owned firearms proves that.

From a current news article:

"Statistics Canada said rifles and shotguns were used in 23 per cent of gun slayings last year, while handguns accounted for 64 per cent. The remaining 13 per cent involved other illegal firearms, like sawed-off shotguns and automatic weapons."

Handguns have been registered (exactly like the long gun registry) since the 1930's and somehow, they are being used in crimes. Not sure how that can happen! (insert largest, most sarcastic smiley emoticon you can find)

So it seems that somewhere around 3 dozen people have been killed by long guns last year and the registry couldn't stop those (not sure how many of those firearms were registered or not).

It sure seems like more DUI checks would easily save more lives than the registry ever could.

Smack the judges upside the head and get them to convict real criminals who commit crimes with illegal firearms and put them in jail. Stop this "hug a thug" mentality and stop releasing the "misunderstood" armed robber into society where he'll simply do it all over again without any kind of program to help truly rehabilitate him. If he can't be rehabilitated, then he can rot in jail as far as I'm concerned, or he can live in the neighbourhood of those folks who think jails are bad.

Kirk930

Speedyellow993

No stats on how many murders were done by registered Guns?

I would like the government to spend money on a new program called:

"The ****ty Driver Registry".... But too bad this campaign won't win election votes nor is it glamourous so the Press and Media don't care.

Who gives a F that it might actually save lives?

ekam

Yea let's see how many people die from guns compare to cars.

But guns are designed to kill. Well your Porsche is design to do 180mph so why do you need that for? Let's ban them and give everyone Corollas instead.

petee1997

OK I give up! You win! I can't compete with well thought out arguments like the above.

Kirk930

Like this well thought out argument:

Or this one:

ekam

You mean when everybody own guns there's no blood on the street and there'll be shootout everywhere??? Holy christ look at them they look like they're going to kill someone in any second!


And here's a little something for those who will enjoy watching...

IXLR8

Just as there are firearms acquisitions certificates and gun registries to solve the problem , why not a liquor acquisition certificate. But that would cut into alcohol sales and tax revenue.

IXLR8

And in some countries, if you are over the limit, you just lost your car permanently...got a loan on it...that is still your problem. That is how they get serious about DUI.

One driver had a slight fender bender in a traffic circle in Italy. He tested positive. He lost his car. Three months later he jumped off a bridge.

SeanR

I thought those were funny, it was right there he lost any argument he had, but what do I know, I'm a gun totin, red-necked, yank.

rideau

"why not a liquor acquisition certificate."
For those who are not at my advanced age , there was a permit required in Ontario to purchase liquor in the 1960's. Additionally, you had to fill in a form with your name (can't remember if address was required or not) to purchase beer.