Criminals killed two men in Montreal this week, in public, and in the middle of the day. Faced with the rise in violent crime, more and more Montrealers no longer recognize their city or are considering leaving the neighborhoods they have lived in for a long time.
There is no longer any question of conflicts between members of street gangs; the latter even target random innocents to score points in the “territories” of their opponents like in a video game. Last year, the Montreal police even visited the “street boss” of the mafia to ask for his help in reducing street gang violence in Montreal North.
This is unacceptable.
It’s time to say loud and clear what ordinary people realize but politicians refuse to admit. The “woke” approach to criminals does not work.
Abolition of penalties
With his Bill C-5, Justin Trudeau wants to abolish mandatory minimum sentences for crimes such as illegal importation, discharge with intent, extortion and theft with a firearm. Like Mayor Valérie Plante in Montreal, he encourages those who wish to “defund” the police. Rather than fighting real criminals, Trudeau prefers to attack honest gun owners with his Bill C-21 and the mandatory buy-back of several categories of weapons. But that won’t change anything. Criminals and street gangs will never buy their guns from a legal supplier, register them with the authorities, or hand them over to the government under a buyback program.
The vast majority of firearms used in crimes are obtained illegally from the United States. Funds spent on mandatory redemption would have been better spent fighting this traffic.
In 2021, gun smuggler William Rainville was arrested crossing the US border with 248 guns, almost as many as Montreal police have seized this year. He got a 5-year sentence, but got out of prison in 12 months. It makes no sense.
If I become prime minister, I pledge to fight criminals, street gangs and arms smugglers. I would hire more police and border guards to stop gun smuggling.
I would also work to restore the mandatory sentences abolished by the Liberals for real criminals who use guns, especially those who reoffend. While young people who have made a mistake should be given a chance to reintegrate into society, hardened criminals who endanger the public should remain in jail. The safety of our cities and neighborhoods must come first.
Photo QMI Agency, Toma Iczkovits
Pierre Poilievre
Candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada