Ottawa will inject $390 million over five years into provincial and territorial gun violence prevention and response programs.
“One victim is one victim too many,” Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Monday, announcing the funding during a press briefing in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto.
The envelope will notably be disbursed through the Initiative to Combat Gun and Gang Violence (ILCVAFG).
Quebec will receive $84.8 million, specified to The Canadian Press a spokesperson for the minister. The province that will receive the lion’s share is Ontario, with $121.4 million.
The ILCVAFG was launched in November 2017 by the federal government, with funding of approximately $327.6 million over five years to address the increase in gun violence and criminal gang activity in Canada.
Quebec used its share of funding to deploy its CENTAURE program, that is to say its strategy to fight against armed violence.
” The project […] resulted in the seizure of nearly 400 weapons in the largest cities, nearly 500 more at the border as well as seven 3D printers that were used to make ghost weapons, in the first nine months of the program,” said Mendicino.
A motion to limit debate on C-21
The Conservatives hailed the investment unveiled Monday, but say the Liberals are using the announcement to distract from the fact that they want to ram through their Bill C-21 quickly.
“(It’s) really a blow against the democratic debate that we have in committee,” said indignant Conservative spokesperson for public safety, Raquel Dancho.
Justin Trudeau’s government introduced a motion in the House on Monday that, if passed, will shorten the time for debate on the piece of legislation aimed at tightening gun control.
The purpose of the motion is to set a short deadline for the public safety committee to complete its review of each proposed amendment to the bill. The motion will also limit the time allotted to debate Bill C-21 at third reading in the House of Commons, the final stage before the bill, if passed, is sent to the Senate.
The New Democrats seem inclined to vote in favor of the time allocation motion, according to comments made by their House leader, Peter Julian. The latter said last week that the time taken to adopt each amendment in committee was far from responding to the “urgency” of the issue of armed violence.
“It would take about three and a half years, at our current rate, to complete the clause-by-clause study of this bill,” lamented the MP who sits on the public safety committee.
Minister Mendicino praised, during his press briefing, the measures included in Bill C-21, which aims to strengthen the handgun freeze and the ban on assault-type weapons. On this last aspect, the approach advocated by the government is sharply criticized by groups like PolySeSouvient since it does not attack weapons deemed problematic that are already on the market.
bail system
Mr. Mendicino also reiterated on Monday his commitment to introduce reform of the bail system, promising that the changes requested by the provinces would come “in the near future”.
“We must ensure that we (adjust the) laws and you can be sure that we will present a set (of measures) that will meet the demand of our provincial and territorial partners,” he said.
Two weeks ago, the provincial and territorial premiers wrote to their federal counterpart, Justin Trudeau, to urge him to act on this issue.
“A strengthened bail system that prioritizes keeping repeat violent criminals in custody is clearly necessary to maintain safer communities for all Canadians,” the letter read.
Already, last January, the Prime Ministers had sent a letter to express the same request.
Police authorities and the Conservative opposition in the Commons are also calling for a tightening of the bail system.
Canada’s Department of Public Safety says firearm-related homicides in Canada have risen steadily, reaching a total of 277 in 2020 — 16 more than the previous year — while gang-related homicides have also increased. increase.
Since 2013, the number of gang-related homicides has nearly doubled in major Canadian cities.