Drizzt
Member
Ottawa Citizen
February 1, 2003 Saturday Final Edition
SECTION: News; Pg. A8
LENGTH: 355 words
HEADLINE: Gun owners' addresses found in garbage bin: Alliance MP worries about thieves getting information
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
BYLINE: Tim Naumetz
BODY:
Alliance MP Darrel Stinson blasted the Canadian Firearms Centre yesterday after the federal privacy watchdog disclosed that envelopes bearing the names and addresses of gun owners were found in a garbage bin.
Privacy commissioner George Radwanski reported earlier this week that his office was tipped in late 2001 that Firearms Centre waste bags were found frozen to the bottom of the garbage bin. Mr. Radwanski did not disclose the location.
The bags contained return envelopes the centre had mailed to gun owners to send back to its processing site at Miramachi, N.B., with firearms registration applications. Although many of the envelopes carried the names and return addresses of the gun owners, a private company processing the applications, BDP Business Data Services Ltd., discarded the used envelopes with regular office trash. Firearms Centre spokesman David Austin said yesterday more than 1.5 million of the envelopes had been sent out to gun owners across Canada, but noted BDP switched to paper shredders to dispose of waste immediately after Mr. Radwanski informed the firearms centre about the container discovery.
Mr. Stinson said that if thieves had found the envelopes, they would have known the location of dozens of homes containing firearms. He accused BDP of breaching the privacy rights of Canadians and demanded action from the government.
Solicitor General Wayne Easter noted Mr. Radwanski reported the matter and "when the privacy commissioner raises some concerns, we constantly try to accommodate those concerns and work with him."
Mr. Easter also brushed off criticism from Alliance MP Garry Breitkreuz over the MP's discovery that only one million of the six million firearms in the registry have been verified to match the details sent in on registration applications by gun owners.
Mr. Breitkreuz obtained the information from the RCMP, which is responsible for maintaining the registry.
"There comes a time to move on, and maybe it would be better for society if that member, instead of undermining the system constantly, tried to work with us to improve it," said Mr. Easter.
February 1, 2003 Saturday Final Edition
SECTION: News; Pg. A8
LENGTH: 355 words
HEADLINE: Gun owners' addresses found in garbage bin: Alliance MP worries about thieves getting information
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
BYLINE: Tim Naumetz
BODY:
Alliance MP Darrel Stinson blasted the Canadian Firearms Centre yesterday after the federal privacy watchdog disclosed that envelopes bearing the names and addresses of gun owners were found in a garbage bin.
Privacy commissioner George Radwanski reported earlier this week that his office was tipped in late 2001 that Firearms Centre waste bags were found frozen to the bottom of the garbage bin. Mr. Radwanski did not disclose the location.
The bags contained return envelopes the centre had mailed to gun owners to send back to its processing site at Miramachi, N.B., with firearms registration applications. Although many of the envelopes carried the names and return addresses of the gun owners, a private company processing the applications, BDP Business Data Services Ltd., discarded the used envelopes with regular office trash. Firearms Centre spokesman David Austin said yesterday more than 1.5 million of the envelopes had been sent out to gun owners across Canada, but noted BDP switched to paper shredders to dispose of waste immediately after Mr. Radwanski informed the firearms centre about the container discovery.
Mr. Stinson said that if thieves had found the envelopes, they would have known the location of dozens of homes containing firearms. He accused BDP of breaching the privacy rights of Canadians and demanded action from the government.
Solicitor General Wayne Easter noted Mr. Radwanski reported the matter and "when the privacy commissioner raises some concerns, we constantly try to accommodate those concerns and work with him."
Mr. Easter also brushed off criticism from Alliance MP Garry Breitkreuz over the MP's discovery that only one million of the six million firearms in the registry have been verified to match the details sent in on registration applications by gun owners.
Mr. Breitkreuz obtained the information from the RCMP, which is responsible for maintaining the registry.
"There comes a time to move on, and maybe it would be better for society if that member, instead of undermining the system constantly, tried to work with us to improve it," said Mr. Easter.
