Federal funding to target gun, gang crimes in N.L.

Details of exactly how the $3.57 million will be used have not yet been decided

The federal government announced money Friday to help prevent gun crime and gang violence in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Federal Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek spoke at a media conference at Royal Newfoundland Constabulary headquarters in St. John’s, saying Ottawa will spend $3.57 million over five years in this province to address gun and gang crime, including prevention programs and supports for law enforcement. The details of exactly how it will be used have not yet been revealed.

“The funding will also help to target and break cycles of violence, trauma and substance abuse,” Jaczek said.

The money is part of $390 million in federal funding, announced earlier this month to build on the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence, announced in 2017 to respond to specific needs of the provinces and territories.

Ottawa had committed to $327.6 million in federal funding between 2018 and 2022 to deal with an increase in gun violence and gang activity in Canada.

“The goals of the funding are to prevent and reduce gun and gang violence, using a collaborative multipronged approach; that includes enhancing knowledge through improved data collection and intelligence sharing in order to better support, law-enforcement, help young people make good choices, and help our communities thrive,” Jaczek said.

RNC REACTS

RNC Chief Pat Roach said his force and the RCMP have dismantled gun-manufacturing operations locally in recent years, pointing to a significant seizure last year of 3D-printed weapons and related equipment in Torbay.

Illegal guns are getting into the province “in any means possible,” Roach said.

“The funding certainly … will go to our resources, both our agencies, to work together to combat that, to cut down on that, and for investigative purposes.

“Gun violence is present and prevalent in our province. You can (see) that in the arrests we’ve been making over the past months and years.“

Provincial Justice and Public Safety Minister John Hogan said government will work with police and community organizations to determine how to spend the money.

“We want to get to these things earlier, because this is the end result of stuff that’s not dealt with,” he said. “We talk about it in health, we talk about it in crime, we talk about it in society.

“This funding will certainly be looked at (in terms of) how we can deal with it sooner rather than later.”