(Ottawa) The Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, maintains that the government is fully aware that the fight against organized crime and gun violence does not only involve Bill C-21.
“This means that, I believe, it will reduce the number of these rifles [utilisés dans des meurtres] in circulation, but it also requires support from the police and prosecutors. It takes investigators, not just from the RCMP, but [aussi] other police forces,” Mr. LeBlanc said Monday while appearing before a Senate committee studying the bill from Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
He added that his office is in “continuous discussion” with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to find out “how we can support our partners in this regard.”
The minister also mentioned that his provincial counterpart in Quebec, François Bonnardel, stressed that he would like to see more federal action at the border with the United States.
“I think we can do a lot more and we will do it,” added Mr. LeBlanc.
Several senators took the floor to criticize the government for not doing enough, with Bill C-21, to fight illegal arms trafficking at the border and to curb organized crime.
“It’s still been eight years since the government [libéral] is in power and then I have the impression that there is an inability to produce a law that would have a significant impact on organized crime,” said Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais, for example.
The former police officer spoke of “better border surveillance, hunting down arms traffickers, exemplary sentences […] for those who get caught” as measures that would be more effective in his eyes.
“But it looks like identifying prohibited weapons is kind of a boondoggle,” he said.
The senator nevertheless indicated that he was going to vote in favor of C-21, although he was “still disappointed.”
Regulatory changes promised
The bill, adopted in the House last May, aims to strengthen the freeze on handguns put in place by decree in October last year, as well as the ban on assault-type weapons. decreed in 2020.
C-21 was amended to include a definition of what a prohibited assault-type weapon is. The technical definition aims to eliminate loopholes in the 2020 decree which made it possible to ban around 2,000 models and variants.
However, the definition, which does not include a list of the different prohibited weapons, greatly displeases the organization campaigning for tighter gun control PolySeSouvient. The group objects to the fact that the ban will only apply to weapons that could enter the market without having an effect on those already there.
Ottawa, however, promised to tackle, through regulations, high-capacity magazines “in order to eliminate the loopholes and exemptions that allow access to magazines of more than 5 or 10 cartridges, respectively for weapons shoulder and handguns,” recalled Mr. LeBlanc.
He also noted that the Trudeau government has reestablished the existence of the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee in order to tackle weapons classification problems. For example, this committee will “independently examine the classification of existing models that fall under the new prospective definition of prohibited weapon in Bill C-21 and identify[a] those that qualify as hunting firearms in order to exclude them from a future decree that aims to ban all existing assault weapons.”
The fact that Mr. LeBlanc sets out Ottawa’s intentions in terms of regulatory changes in this way reassures PolySeSouvient. “The minister’s message was clear and unequivocal. We can now hope that the government will follow through on its promise to ban all military-style weapons in circulation,” said the organization representing survivors and family members of victims of the massacre in Polytechnic.
Minister LeBlanc mentioned that he should meet representatives of PolySeSouvient soon.
Moreover, Senator Peter M. Boehm asked the minister if he plans to speak with associations of sports shooters and hunters who also have a “valid” interest in the way in which future Bill C-21 will be implemented. . Many feel unfairly targeted by the bill, although the government has been saying for months that this is not the case.
Mr. LeBlanc responded to Senator Boehm that “the unequivocal answer” to his question “is ‘yes’.” Once the bill has received the approval of senators and possibly royal assent, the minister stressed that there will remain discussions to be had with these groups on regulatory changes and the deployment of a buyback program, notably.
According to Teri Bryant of the Alberta Chief Firearms Office, the 2020 order has already “eroded” the legal firearms market.
“Many are barely holding on and some have already been forced to close [leurs portes] “, she said, imploring senators to propose major amendments to Bill C-21, which, in her opinion, is full of flaws.
Up to 18 months for settlements
In terms of promised regulatory changes, Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne invited the minister to commit to ensuring that the promised changes will be in force no later than one year after C-21 becomes law. Ideally, she would like this to happen within six months.
“I understand the urgency. […] I would be very disappointed if it takes us a year,” the minister said. He added that he would be “surprised” if this file was not “completed” by then.
A senior official later clarified that, under normal circumstances, the regulatory process can last up to 18 months, which is a year and a half.
Talal Dakalbab, assistant deputy minister at Public Safety Canada, specified that the time required will depend on the “type of consultations” and “the amount of comments we receive.”
“I always have a lot of reservations when I hear that we need to adopt a law and that regulations will follow,” said Senator Dagenais. I would like the regulations to be provided to us at the same time as the bill to avoid surprises. »
On this subject, Mr. Dakalbab indicated that the ministry “does not have the choice to wait” for C-21 to come into force since this is necessary to have “legal authority to develop regulations”.