Review of the Canadian Firearms Centre Contribution Agreements Report

October 2006

Executive Summary

The Canadian Firearms Centre (CAFC) is responsible for the implementation of the Canadian Firearms Program (Program) excluding the criminal code aspects. The Program governs the licensing of firearm owners and the registration of their firearms. The goal of the Program is to reduce firearms-related death, injury and crime and promote public safety.

The Program is delivered via a partnership between the federal, provincial and territorial levels of government. Several jurisdictions have opted-out of program delivery and the federal government administers the Program on their behalf. For the opt-in provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Québec) funding for the administration of the Program is provided by CAFC via contribution agreements.

On May 17th 2006, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada announced the transfer of the responsibility of the CAFC to the RCMP. Before this date, a review of CAFC contribution agreements was conducted by Spearhead Management. Since this review was initiated prior to transferring the responsibility of the CAFC to the RCMP, Internal Audit’s involvement was limited to preparing this report.

While the review conducted by Spearhead Management did follow a set structure, it was not conducted in accordance with the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Audit. Accordingly, no audit opinion can be made as to the appropriateness and effectiveness of the system of internal controls. The information in this report is intended to help guide RCMP management decision-making by identifying areas of strengths as well as improvement opportunities.

The review found that the expenditures claimed by, and payments made to, the provinces for services rendered in the administration of the Program were, in all material respects, eligible and supported by proper documentation in accordance with the contribution agreements. Also, the review did not identify any major deficiencies in the financial controls implemented in the five opt-in provinces.

However, the review identified the following:

• Deviations from the terms and conditions of the contribution agreements were noted in the areas of financial reporting and forecasting;
• New agreements or letters to extend the current agreements, were not formally signed-off or completed prior to beginning a new fiscal year; and
• A lack of segregation of duties within the provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island was noted regarding the handling of monies received.

To obtain an electronic copy of the complete report (PDF) or if you would like to receive this report in an alternate format, please send a request by e-mail to the Internal Audit, Evaluation and Review section of the RCMP.