Canada needs a genuinely federal police force to make good on its firearms mandate

Firearms legislation is bound to be controversial. On the one hand, a government that is actually serious about firearms could act on any number of options that do not require legislation. On the other hand, C-21, however inchoate, represents a genuine effort to balance individual interest with community safety across a large country where values, interests and priorities vary widely.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, pictured June 2, 2021, testifying remotely before the House Public Safety Committee. Bill C-21 would have given municipalities the power to make owning handguns illegal. But most of the handguns used in the commission of those offences are already illegal: only one of 20 handguns seized by Toronto Police between January and mid-February 2021 was legal.Screen capture courtesy of ParlVu

Opinion

BY CHRISTIAN LEUPRECHT AND DAVE CASSELS

July 1, 2021

Gun safety has been on the legislative docket consistently since the École Polytechnique shootings in 1989. Gun owners now take courses, undergo waiting periods, and are subject to a stringent licensing system to own, transport, and handle a firearm. So, why do well over 1,000 Canadians continue to...

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