NDP demands leeway for cities to ban handguns
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is urging the prime minister to immediately give cities the leeway to ban handguns.
In a lengthy letter Thursday to Justin Trudeau outlining a long-term approach to tackling crime, Singh says simply adding more policing is not a solution to gun violence in cities.
That’s because some measures, such as street checks and carding, have amplified distrust between police and racialized communities, Indigenous peoples and those struggling with mental illness.
Instead, he says allowing cities to ban handguns would help municipal authorities deal with the fact that many gun crimes are committed with legal guns.
“The federal government should not stand in the way of municipal leaders who know their communities best, and want to ban these weapons to keep their residents safe,” he wrote.
Singh also wants the government to spend $100 million a year, starting next year, on efforts to combat gang violence — a target the Trudeau government has pledged to reach after 2022. He says this funding should focus on prevention, especially looking at youth gangs, bullying and cyberbullying.
He also wants more resources for the Canada Border Services Agency to curtail crossborder weapons smuggling.
In the wake of a deadly shooting in Toronto last month, Toronto city council passed a motion urging the federal government to forbid the sale of handguns in the city and for the province to outlaw the sale of handgun ammunition in the city.
The federal government has said it’s considering a number of different ways to crack down on handguns, including giving municipalities the ability to do so.
Bill C-71, introduced late last winter, would expand the scope of background checks on those who want to acquire a gun, strengthen record-keeping requirements for sales and require purchasers to present a firearms licence.
But the government has said it is also actively exploring additional measures, including possibly changing some of the classifications of firearms that would effectively remove some of them from the commercial market.
On Thursday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale’s office said the government is looking at a broad range of ideas based on measures that have been most effective around the world.
“The recent shootings in Toronto are senseless tragedies and reminders of the devastating effects of gun violence and criminal activity in our communities. When it comes to keeping communities safe from gun violence, we are open to all options,” said Goodale’s spokesperson, Scott Bardsley.