(Ottawa) Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc claims the government is fully aware that the fight against organized crime and gun violence is not just about Bill C-21.
Published yesterday at 7:51 p.m.
Émilie Bergeron The Canadian Press
“What that means, in my opinion, is that this will reduce the number of these rifles [utilisés dans des meurtres] in circulation, but also requires the support of the police and public prosecutor’s office. There needs to be investigators, not just from the RCMP, but also [aussi] other police forces,” Mr. LeBlanc said Monday as he appeared before a Senate committee examining Justin Trudeau’s Liberal bill.
He added that his office is in “ongoing discussions” with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to determine “how we can support our partners in this regard.”
The minister also mentioned that his provincial counterpart in Quebec, François Bonnardel, stressed that he would like to see more federal action on the border with the United States.
“I think we can do a lot more and we will,” Mr. LeBlanc added.
Several senators took the floor and criticized the government for not doing enough with Bill C-21 to combat illegal arms trafficking at the border and curb organized crime.
“It’s still eight years since the government [libéral] is in power and then I have the impression that it is not possible to pass a law that would have a significant impact on organized crime,” said Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais, for example.
The former police officer spoke of “better border surveillance, hunting down arms dealers, exemplary punishments”. […] for those who get caught” than measures that would be more effective in his eyes.
“But it looks like identifying banned weapons is some kind of nonsense,” he said.
The senator nevertheless indicated that he would vote for C-21, although he was “still disappointed.”
Regulatory changes promised
The bill, approved in the House of Representatives last May, aims to strengthen the handgun freeze implemented by decree last October, as well as the assault weapons ban enacted in 2020.
C-21 was amended to include a definition of what a prohibited assault weapon is. The aim of the technical definition is to close gaps in the 2020 decree that allowed around 2,000 models and variants to be banned.
However, the definition, which does not contain a list of the various prohibited weapons, greatly displeases the organization PolySeSouvient, which advocates for stricter gun control. The group argues that the ban only applies to weapons that could enter the market without affecting existing weapons.
However, Ottawa promised to address high-capacity magazines through regulations “to eliminate the loopholes and exceptions that allow access to magazines holding more than 5 and 10 rounds for shoulder and handguns, respectively,” Mr. LeBlanc recalled.
He also noted that the Trudeau government has restored the existence of the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee to address weapons classification issues. For example, this committee will “independently review and identify the classification of existing models that fall within the new prospective definition of prohibited weapons in Bill C-21.”[a] those considered hunting firearms, in order to exclude them from a future decree aimed at banning all existing offensive weapons.”
The fact that Mr. LeBlanc is laying out Ottawa’s intentions regarding regulatory changes in this way is reassuring to PolySeSouvient. “The minister’s message was clear and unequivocal. We can now hope that the government will keep its promise to ban all military weapons in circulation,” said the organization, which represents survivors and family members of victims of the polytechnic massacre.
Minister LeBlanc mentioned that he would soon meet representatives from PolySeSouvient.
In addition, Senator Peter M. Boehm asked the minister whether he planned to speak with sport shooting and hunting associations who also have a “vested” interest in the way future Bill C-21 is implemented. Many feel that the draft law unfairly targets them, even though the government has been claiming for months that this is not the case.
Mr. LeBlanc responded to Senator Boehm that “the clear answer” to his question is “yes.” Once the bill has received the assent of senators and possibly the royal assent, the minister stressed that discussions still need to be held with these groups about regulatory changes and in particular the introduction of a buyback program.
According to Teri Bryant of the Alberta Chief Firearms Office, the 2020 regulation has already “undermined” the legal firearms market.
“Many are barely holding on and some have already had to close [leurs portes] ” she said, imploring senators to propose major changes to Bill C-21, which she said is riddled with flaws.
Up to 18 months for billing
Regarding the promised regulatory changes, Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne called on the minister to work to ensure that the promised changes come into force no later than one year after the enactment of C-21. Ideally, she would like this to happen within six months.
“I understand the urgency. […] I would be very disappointed if it took us a year to do this,” said the minister. He added that he would be “surprised” if this file was not “complete” by then.
A senior official later clarified that under normal circumstances, the regulatory process could take up to 18 months, or a year and a half.
Talal Dakalbab, deputy minister of Public Security Canada, said the time required depends on the “type of consultations” and “the number of comments we receive.”
“I always have great reservations when I hear that we have to pass a law and that regulations will follow,” said Senator Dagenais. I would like the regulations to be presented to us at the same time as the draft law to avoid surprises. »
On this issue, Mr. Dakalbab pointed out that the ministry “does not have the choice to wait for C-21 to enter into force,” as it is necessary to have “legal authority to develop regulations.”