The day after the announcement of a possible freeze on handgun sales in Canada, the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party Steven Del Duca says he wants to go further if he is elected Prime Minister on June 2: he will ensure that the carrying of handguns is prohibited in the country. “I will lead the national conversation,” he announced at a press conference.
Steven Del Duca took advantage of his first pre-campaign announcement on April 19 to warn that he was going to ban handguns in Ontario. “Conservatives put the interests of the gun lobby before those of victims of violence,” he said. The leader reiterated his commitment last week. Conservative Doug Ford is not in favor of such a ban, preferring to invest more in police services.
Justin Trudeau’s announcement, however, highlighted the fact that it is the federal government that has the biggest end of the stick in the file, the carrying of weapons being governed by the Firearms Act. It was therefore not completely clear how an Ontario government could have banished the carrying of weapons on its territory, even if Steven Del Duca wanted it.
On Tuesday, the Liberal leader said Bill C-21 was a step forward, but it was not enough. “As Premier, I will lead the conversation for a national handgun ban,” said Steven Del Duca, “and I will take that conversation to Ottawa and other provincial capitals.” “Ontarians deserve to be safe at all times,” he says.
Also questioned on Tuesday morning during a campaign stop in the Ottawa region, NDP leader Andrea Horwath signaled her desire to ban handguns in “urban areas”, a long-standing promise party date. The NDP thinks the province needs to work more closely with municipalities that want to ban this type of weapon.
The situation in the metropolis
Gun violence has been on the rise in the Queen City since 2015, according to a report submitted by the Toronto Police Service to its board of directors earlier this month. The number of people killed or injured by firearms has increased by 38% between 2015 and 2021. “Gun violence is an ongoing threat to public safety,” reads the report.
The vast majority of handguns used in shootings in the city, on the other hand, come from the United States. In testimony to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in February, Toronto Deputy Chief of Police Myron Demkiw said that in 2021, 86% of guns used in crime came from the south. of the border.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.