Liberal government will provide a $1 billion fund to help provinces ban handguns, while making the firearms buyback program mandatory, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Thursday.
federal government has introduced new legislation to address gun-related crimes, such as a ban of over 1,500 assault-type rifles that went into effect on May 1, 2020, Mendicino said during a committee meeting at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.
In February, the Liberal government introduced Bill C-21, which establishes a “non-permissive storage possession regime,” allowing lawful owners of the firearms banned on May 1, 2020, the option to keep their firearms under strict conditions.
“Now that we have banned assault rifles, we have to take the next steps and implement a buyback program,” he said. “To all the survivors and advocacy groups … we are listening to you, we are going to make the buyback program mandatory.”
Mendicino also told the committee that the federal government will commit $1 billion to the provinces and territories that want to ban handguns.
However, Conservative MP Raquel Dancho remains doubtful about its effectiveness in curbing gun violence, particularly after Liberal legislation, Bill C-5, removed the mandatory minimum penalties for offences such as “robberies with a firearm extortion, extortion with a firearm, and weapon trafficking, discharging a firearm with intent to injure, and using a firearm in the commission of a crime.”
“We’re quite concerned that on one hand, we’re seeing criminals using often illegally smuggled guns to harm our communities, and on the other hand, your government is taking away the ability to ensure they have mandatory prison time,” Dancho said.
She also questioned the effectiveness of the firearms buyback program, especially when people who owned guns illegally are unlikely to give up their firearms.
“Criminals will not be handing their guns back to you, and they are the ones that are hurting people in our cities,” Dancho said.
In response, the public safety minister said that the government will increase criminal penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking, while also investing $250 million in a “Safe Communities Fund” to create safer and more inclusive spaces.
“We have a responsibility to work together to reduce gun violence. We cannot risk another shooting at school, a place of worship, or at a police officer, or on women, or on any innocent life,” Mendicino said, adding that none of the regulations are targeting the lawful gun owners.
“I say to our law-abiding gun owners, we know that you are responsible, prudent, and respectful of the law. I want to assure hunters, farmers, and target shooters that nothing we are doing is intended to diminish your lawful recreational activities.”
Pezou : Liberal Government Commits $1 Billion for Provinces to Ban Handguns: Public Safety Minister