432-00594 (Democratic process)

Canadians deserve to live in a society where they can feel safe and secure from gun violence. The Government ofCanada has prohibited assault-style firearms as they are not reasonable for hunting or sport shooting purposes given theinherent danger that they pose to public safety. The prohibition limits access to the most dangerous firearms that arecharacterized by their design and their capability of inflicting significant harm to Canadians. The prohibition reduces thenumber and availability of assault style firearms and other firearms that exceed safe civilian use in Canada, and lowersthe possibility of these firearms being diverted to the illegal market.

For decades chiefs of police had been advocating for additional restrictions, and even a prohibition, of military-styleassault rifles. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police previously passed a resolution declaring that military assaultrifles were produced for the “sole purpose of killing people in large numbers” and asked the Minister of Justice to “banall military assault rifles except for law enforcement and military purposes.” Last September the Ontario Association ofChiefs of Police expressed support for a prohibition on all military-designed assault rifles, averring that “these weaponshave no place in our communities and should be reserved for use by Canada’s military and law enforcement.” The current president of the CACP even declared that “Canadian Chiefs believe that this finds balance, it ensures the safety of our members when they respond to calls for service.”

Through Section 117.15 of the Criminal Code, Parliament provides the Government with the authority to prescribe the classification of firearms. We have exercised that authority to benefit the safety and security of Canadians, within limits set by Parliament. The affected firearms are prohibited as they (1) have semi-automatic action with sustain rapid-fire capability (tactical/military design with large magazine capacity), (2) are of modern design, and (3) are present in large volumes in the Canadian market. This authority has existed for decades and has been exercised several times over theyears including by the previous Conservative Government.

We made a promise to Canadians and we have delivered. We have been clear that our prohibition will not impact the activities of law-abiding hunters or sport shooters. We have also signaled our intent to implement a buyback program that will provide fair compensation to affected owners. We are looking at a range of options, and will work with Parliament as well as the provinces and territories to get this right for law-abiding gun owners and businesses.

While the prohibition is a crucial first step, it is only one of a series of measures that we are taking to target firearm-related crime in this country. We know that firearms-related violence is complex and must be addressed comprehensively. That is why our Government introduced Bill C-21, which proposes amendments to the Firearms Act and the CriminalCode that would build on the Government’s previous actions to promote the safety of Canadians while protecting the privileges associated with lawful firearms ownership. These include:

•             bringing into law “red and yellow flag” regimes that would give anyone - medical practitioners, family members, neighbours and victims of gender-based, intimate-partner, and family violence - the ability to seek a temporary licence suspension or removal of firearms from those who pose a danger to themselves or others in cases of domestic violence, suicide, or hate motivated crime;

•             creating new offences for altering a cartridge magazine, depicting violence in advertising;

•             tightening restrictions on replica firearms and the importation of non-prohibited ammunition;

•             increasing the exchange of intelligence between the RCMP and local police of jurisdiction;

•             providing firearms owners affected by the May 1 assault-style firearms prohibition with disposition options including a strict non-permissive storage regime; and

•             helping create safer communities by supporting the efforts of municipalities who choose to take action to restrict handguns within their boundaries.

In recognition of the public safety threat posed by gun smuggling, the Bill also includes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for trafficking and smuggling offences, moving them from 10 years to 14 years imprisonment. 

We welcome the support of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police who “wholeheartedly endorse all efforts to strengthen border controls and impose stronger penalties to combat firearms smuggling and trafficking”.

Let us not forget that during C-71 study at committee, Conservative MPs proposed amendments that proposed there be no punishment for “false statements to procure licences” and “false statements to procure customs confirmations”— so, importing or trafficking. Just recently, we announced that we will be re-establishing the Cross-Border Crime Forum with the U.S. while exploring the creation of a cross-border task force which to address gun smuggling and trafficking.

Following hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to our agencies by the previous Conservative government, we arerebuilding capacity. The CBSA is receiving $51.5 million over five years through the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence to enhance its capacity to stem the flow of inadmissible travellers and illegal firearms entering Canada at vulnerable points of entry and through postal facilities. It is also procuring equipment to enhance air cargo security and pallet imaging, intelligence collection and production abilities, and improving border operations through measures aimed at enhancing the CBSA’s capacity to detect and interdict illegal firearms at the border.

In addition, the RCMP is receiving $34.5 million through the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence to enhance its capacity to conduct investigations related to the criminal use of firearms as well as to provide law enforcement with enhanced access to training, technology and data to keep illicit firearms out of Canada and detect and report on criminal gang activities. The RCMP has created the Integrated Criminal Firearms Initiative to expand and enhance existing services available to support firearms investigations nationwide. This includes providing anonymous online capabilities to investigate firearms trafficking and smuggling, conducting physical firearms inspections, enhancing analytical capacity to develop and produce actionable intelligence, and supporting stakeholder outreach among partners to advance focused initiatives. The RCMP is also prioritizing strategic intelligence analysis related to street gangs and the procurement of advanced technologies to expedite and further support the analysis of ballistics and illicit manufacturing of firearms.

We are also making important investments in our communities to reduce gun and gang violence.  More than $200 million is now flowing directly to provinces and territories to target initiatives that best meet the unique needs of individual communities to advance efforts in areas of prevention, gang exit, outreach and awareness training as well as enhanced intelligence sharing and law enforcement capacity. With the funding allocations, jurisdictions have made investments to support new law enforcement activities including specialized training and education initiatives and improving data collection and information sharing. PTs have also prioritized a number of prevention intervention initiatives. We will help create safer communities by giving young people the opportunities and resources they need to resist lives of crime by providing an additional $250 million over five years to municipalities and Indigenous communities to support youth programming.

Our Government will continue working to enhance public safety by focusing on prevention, effective law enforcement and strong community partnerships.