Minister Blair should fix our gun laws

Canadians should celebrate the appointment of former Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair to the newly created position of Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction.

There just isn’t a better person in the country for this job. From his years as a beat cop to running Toronto’s police, he’s shown the toughness, the leadership, the integrity to take on some of the toughest tasks imaginable. He’s done it respecting everyone’s rights. And he’s always achieved solid results, making our communities safer.

The prime minister has also given him specific responsibility to combat gun violence. That’s great news, too. As Toronto’s police chief he fought the good fight against Stephen Harper, as he dismantled the firearms registry.

He and other police chiefs across the country were unable to prevail against Harper’s majority government. But they understood why the registry was important and how it was saving lives.

Blair’s new job puts him in a position to fight for Canadians against the spread of gun violence — and win. And here’s the perfect place to start: overhauling your own government’s gun legislation, which will be voted on in the Senate in the fall.

This past spring, the federal government introduced legislation to beef up gun control in Canada. The problem is it doesn’t go far enough. Truth be told, it’s as if the good guys brought a knife to a gunfight.

The problem is that Harper and the gun lobby did a lot more in 2012 than just scrap the firearms registry, as if that wasn’t bad enough. They rolled back common-sense gun controls that had been in place since 1977.

The sad truth is that we’re now at the stage where the state of New York has stronger gun laws than we do in Canada. The bill introduced in the spring doesn’t correct those weaknesses. But the good news is, it’s not too late.

Here’s a short list of what can be done to give the gun legislation some sorely needed teeth:

Ban handguns. There are now more than one million legal handguns in Canada — a number that has doubled in recent years. Honestly, other than a few competitive shooters under very controlled environments, who needs handguns in our country? Hunters certainly don’t use them. They are made to maim and kill people. The U.K. has a total ban on handguns; that’s one reason their death-by-firearms rate is one-tenth of ours in Canada. Let’s join the British, the Australians and other countries by banning handguns.

Ban sniper rifles and assault weapons. Under the current legislation, the Ruger Mini 14 used to kill 14 women in the Montreal Massacre of1989 would still be legal to buy in Canada. So are the types of sniper rifles used by our military in Afghanistan. What possible use can they have in a civil society? Ban them.

Help police trace guns. The Harper government ended the requirement — in place since 1977 — that gun dealers record firearm sales and make those records available to police when they need to trace guns. That 40-year-old requirement should be put back on the books.

Crack down on gun smuggling from the U.S. The legislation does absolutely nothing to stop the flow of illegal guns from the U.S. into Canada. Americans aren’t shy about enforcing their borders. It’s about time we cracked down — on guns. Introduce tough penalties — including lifetime bans — on anyone who tries to smuggle weapons into Canada. Americans are drowning in a sea of 300 million-plus firearms. We need to stem that from flowing into Canada. Our public safety demands it.

There are positive steps in the current legislation. But we need a more serious effort. That’s why the timing of Blair’s appointment couldn’t be better.

Bill Blair has proven in the past his willingness to fight the gun lobby and do the right thing. Now he has the kinds of levers that were never at his disposal as a police chief. Here’s to his success. A lot is riding on it.

The Harper government ended the requirement — in place since 1977 — that gun dealers record firearm sales and make records available to police

Peter Donolo is vice-chair of H+K Strategies Canada. He was the longtime director of communications to prime minister Jean Chrétien.