Federal ministers Marco Mendicino and Pablo Rodriguez had to announce the payment of more than $40 million to Quebec to fight armed violence in the absence of elected provincial or municipal officials on Thursday, late due to a problem of transportation.
These funds are intended for the Quebec strategy to combat violence related to firearms, called Centaure.
The announcement first scheduled before 9 a.m. Thursday morning was to include the deputy premier of Quebec, Geneviève Guilbault, and the president of the executive committee of the City of Montreal, Dominique Ollivier. However, Minister Mendicino’s plane experienced problems “out of his control”, which pushed the meeting back to late morning, too late for the meeting with his provincial counterpart.
The total amount of $41.8 million allocated to the Quebec government comes from the $250 million “Fund to build safer communities” announced this spring. This money must be used for local initiatives “that prevent gun violence and help young people make good choices”.
“In recent years, armed violence has unfortunately been on the rise across the country,” acknowledged Minister Mendicino, whose feet were only visible during the live transmission of his speech on Facebook.
The Minister’s speech in Montreal coincides with the grim conclusion to a series of three murders that have occurred in Montreal and Laval over the past two days. Police killed a 26-year-old suspect on Thursday morning, prompting an investigation by the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI).
The federal government’s press release also notes that gang-related violence and shootings in public places are increasingly common in Quebec.
The federal Liberal government tabled Bill C-21 this spring, which includes measures meant to end cross-border firearms smuggling as well as a “national freeze” on handguns. The initiative has drawn its fair share of criticism, with some saying it does not sufficiently target armed criminals.