Two days after the murder of a teenager in the Saint-Michel district, the mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante, once again called on the federal government to do more to fight against the proliferation of firearms.
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“We’re going to tell each other! It is the federal government which has the entire responsibility for saying “handguns are prohibited!” “, Insisted Mme Plant. In particular, she suggests increasing the penalties for possession of weapons in order to dissuade people from acquiring them.
Photo QMI Agency, Maxime Deland
The mayor also asks Ottawa to strengthen the tightness of borders in order to fight against the problem. “If, every time you pull out a weapon, there are 10 that come in, at some point … it becomes frustrating,” she denounced.
Photo QMI Agency, Maxime Deland
She recalled that the City, the Police Department of the City of Montreal (SPVM) and the Government of Quebec are already doing what is in their power to fight against the problem, which does not only concern Montreal.
Photo QMI Agency, Maxime Deland
Mme Plante was standing in Saint-Michel, a short walk from where Thomas Trudel, an uneventful 16-year-old, was killed on his way home.
“This is one event too many, and all the players in the community and institutions really need to mobilize to be able to counter this phenomenon,” said the director of the SPVM, Sylvain Caron.
Photo QMI Agency, Maxime Deland
He was also on site, to assure the public that the investigation to elucidate the murder is continuing and that the police are doing everything possible to find the perpetrators.
Although the Centaur Squad was set up to combat the proliferation of firearms, Caron believes more needs to be done.
Photo QMI Agency, Maxime Deland
“We have to go further and work with young people. Why are we now at the point where they get arms at 15 or 16 ?, he wondered. No matter how many weapons are seized, they will always remain in circulation. You have to work at the source, and with young people. ”
Called to react, the federal Minister of Public Security assured to be “determined” to act to fight against violence by firearms, but does not undertake to ban handguns.
Ottawa has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to fight arms smuggling, support community initiatives and help police forces, said James Cudmore, director of communications in the office of the Minister of Public Safety.
“Protecting the safety of Canadians is our government’s top priority. Acts like this only strengthen our resolve to prevent incidents before they happen and to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes, ”he said.
This is not the first time that Mme Plante calls upon Ottawa on this matter. In September, the mayoress of Montreal as well as the mayors of the four other largest cities in the province united their voices in the run-up to the federal elections to demand that the next government commit to fighting against the trafficking of firearms. .