À l’aube du discours du Trône, le premier ministre François Legault et la mairesse Valérie Plante ont promis lundi de donner « un grand coup » contre la violence armée, en accentuant encore davantage la pression sur le gouvernement Trudeau pour mieux contrôler la circulation des armes à la frontière et interdire les armes de poing.
« C’est une violence inacceptable qu’on ne veut plus voir à Montréal. On va donner un grand coup dans les prochains mois », a martelé M. Legault lors d’un point de presse tenu au Château Dufresne en après-midi, après sa première rencontre avec la cheffe de Projet Montréal, depuis sa réélection le 7 novembre dernier.
M. Legault s’est dit très inquiet par le décès de jeunes, en faisant référence à Thomas Trudel et Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, notamment. « Il n’y a pas de double-standard. Mon message, c’était d’abord à propos des armes à feu, qu’on veut bannir », s’est aussi de nouveau défendu M. Legault, en réponse aux proches de Jannai Dopwell-Bailey qui déplorent que la mort de Thomas Trudel attire davantage son attention. « La violence par armes ou avec un couteau, c’est tout autant inacceptable », a-t-il insisté en anglais à ce sujet.
« Ce n’est pas le Montréal qu’on aime. […] We do not want to shovel everything elsewhere either, we also have responsibilities, but there are also responsibilities that fall to Ottawa, “insisted Mr. Legault, once again asking the Trudeau government to” better control the entry of arms. At the borders and to “negotiate” to ban handguns on the territory.
No borders
At his side, Mayor Valérie Plante once again insisted that the arms trade and the increase in shootings “are not limited to Montreal”. “It has no borders, hence for us the absurdity that the ban on handguns is entrusted to municipalities. I understand that this is a sensitive issue, but governing is also choosing, ”she said.
We have a problem at the borders, but also a problem with spare parts weapons. We have to create favorable conditions so that our populations feel safe and move on more interesting paths.
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal
According to city figures, more than 500 weapons have already been removed from the streets of the metropolis since January by the police. Montreal intends to increase this balance even further, by supporting the “prevention work” of community organizations in the neighborhoods.
Earlier, last Friday, the federal Minister of Justice, David Lametti, had defended the Criminal Code, saying that it is “very strong”. At the same time, he promised to act to “strengthen border laws and resources” on gun control, in the wake of the murder of young Thomas Trudel in Saint-Michel.
“This is a false impression. We have done more than any government in Canadian history for firearms, ”he suggested on the sidelines of a press briefing in Laval on Friday, thereby rejecting attacks from other levels of government.
In the last few days, Quebec and Montreal had both already urged Ottawa to do more to control the circulation of firearms. “The federal government must call the shot. We are of the opinion that we must go further with the ban and not delegate responsibilities, ”notably supported the Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault.
14 suspects, 15 firearms
Earlier, the Montreal police announced Monday that they had pinned no less than 14 suspects and seized some fifteen firearms “in the last few days”, in several areas of the metropolis. Five separate operations were held over four days last week.
In a statement to the media on Monday, Inspector David Shane, spokesperson for the SPVM, recalled that “the fight against gun violence in Montreal is not only the business of our teams specializing in firearms, but a collective effort by all of our police forces ”, recalling in passing“ the importance of the collaboration of the population ”in these arrests and seizures of weapons.
Anyone with relevant information that can help investigators can contact their neighborhood police station or 911 at any time. Info-Crime Montréal’s anonymous and confidential center can also be reached at 514 393-1133 or online at infocrimemontreal.ca.