The CCFR Week in Review

Amal Attar-Guzman: I’m terrified of guns. But the government’s firearms legislation is still fundamentally flawed

I am terrified of guns. 

Growing up in Toronto, I have never held any sort of firearm in my life. The mere notion of guns freaks me out, even to the point where I can admit that my fear is somewhat irrational. But of course, it is not totally unfounded. The worsening issue of gun-related violence has plagued Torontonians in frightening and even fatal ways.

Gun violence will always be present in big metropolitan cities like Toronto, but it has risen in dramatic fashion in recent years. It reached a peak in 2019, with 492 incidents and 284 persons killed or injured, according to Toronto Police Service data.

And not just Toronto. The trend persists at the national level. According to Statistics Canada, in 2021 gun violence was the most common cause of death among homicide victims for the sixth consecutive year, accounting for 40 percent of homicides, wherein handguns are primarily used. 

Hence, with the initial introduction of Bill C-21—which purportedly aims to address gun violence and place a “national freeze” on handguns—I will admit, I did feel some sense of comfort. At first blush, it seemed to me that the federal government was finally taking this issue seriously. Hopefully, something would be done, especially when it came to illegal gun smuggling and trafficking.

As details of the actual legislation became apparent, however, that feeling dissipated. In late 2022, the government introduced some last-minute amendments that expanded the scope of prohibited weapons to include semi-automatic weapons such as hunting rifles and even sporting guns. 

In introducing these amendments, it was clear that the Liberal caucus was either not aware of its own biases and blindspots on the issue and the present realities that Canadians across the country face, or they just did not care and were content to, once again, play wedge politics with this file.

The new amendments would not have contributed to lowering gun violence across the country. Instead, they criminalized gun owners who live in rural or remote areas and Indigenous communities. Canadians who live outside of major cities may not matter much to the Liberal government electorally speaking, but their concerns are just as valid as the rest.

These amendments have since been withdrawn after major opposition, with the Liberal government backtracking its own rhetoric on the issue.

And yet even still, the bill in its current state misses the mark in two fundamental ways. 

First, the national freeze on the sale, purchase, or transfer of handguns and acquisition of new handguns into Canada—which came into force in late 2022—does not directly reduce gun violence.

So while Bill C-21 does address some issues surrounding gun smuggling and trafficking and more provisions of licence revocation surrounding intimate partner violence and gender-based violence, the bill itself does not confront the main root causes of gun violence on our streets. 

There is a correlation between rising gun violence and general crime and deteriorating socioeconomic conditions, such as rising poverty, lack of education and economic opportunities, lack of mental health support, and lack of support for young Canadians—especially those from racialized and marginalized communities. 

This is very much the case in Toronto, where there is a correlation between rising gun violence and worsening conditions. Due to deteriorating socioeconomic conditions, people turn to the illegal business of gun smuggling and usage because it is a lucrative business. The fact that any strategy addressing root causes has not been mentioned in Bill C-21 is a major blindspot.

Fear is a potent emotion. This combined with biases and uncertainty can make people blind from seeing long-term consequences when making unsubstantiated decisions. On the surface, this bill may seem to appease those of us from the GTA, but with a closer look, at its current state, Bill C-21 is in need of major revisions.

Read the full analysis at The Hub here

RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki is retiring

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Brenda Lucki is retiring from her post next month in what she called today a “personal decision.”

Lucki has been accused of interfering in the RCMP’s investigation into the Nova Scotia killing spree to support the Liberals’ gun control plans and she was unable to address key details during her testimony before last year’s Public Order Emergency Commission, which releases its final report next week.

True North’s Andrew Lawton says Lucki’s quiet exit means a lack of accountability for her shortcomings on the job

Read more at True North here

OPP seize 3D printed guns from driver in Mississauga

Police arrested an 18-year-old man and seized several 3D-printed guns after a traffic stop in Mississauga.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) sergeant Kerry Schmidt said on Feb. 9, at about 3 a.m., an officer stopped a driver for stunt driving on Mavis Road, north of Highway 401 in Mississauga. Schmidt said officers pulled over the driver and impounded the car.

After searching the car, Schmidt said officers found several 3D printed guns.

The OPP arrested the Bolton man on several weapons and driving-related charges.

“It’s very concerning to see those items being assembled with multiple different grips in different colours, making things accessible, with no serial numbers at all,” Schmidt said.

“This is a very concerning seizure and police services across Canada have been seeing more and more of these, very recently.”

Read more at Toronto Star here

Student, 15, in critical condition after shooting at Toronto high school

A Grade 10 student has been rushed to hospital with critical injuries following a shooting at a high school in Toronto.

The shooting happened in a parking lot outside Weston Collegiate Institute just after 12 p.m. [Thursday]

Duty. Insp. Ryan Forde said investigators believe the 15-year-old student had just exited the school building when he was approached by a group of males in a vehicle and shot in “the upper chest area.”

“After he was shot he ran back into the school, where he was tended to by teachers and faculty,” Forde told reporters. “The victim was subsequently transported to a local trauma centre where he is currently in critical care.”

Read more at CTV News Toronto

65 robberies, 21 with guns in Mississauga and Brampton in last 30 days

January was a busy month for Peel Regional Police, who had to investigate close to 70 instances of robberies in Mississauga and Brampton.

From Jan. 11 to Feb. 11, there were 38 robberies in Mississauga and 27 in Brampton, for a total of 65 across both cities.

Police data shows that 21 out of the total robberies in January involved a firearm.

Regarding the police investigations into these incidents, 24 are considered solved, 39 are ongoing, and 20 of these robberies are listed as “unsolved.”

Last month  (Jan. 2023) there was an incident where three men with a gun robbed a pharmacy in Mississauga and four suspects including two 17-year-olds were later arrested and several charges were placed.

Read more at InSauga here

Save the date: the next National Range Day will be on June 3rd, 2023

Please start planning or speak to your club executive to ensure your club is ready (and willing) to host an event for National Range Day in 2023.

There has never been a more important time to introduce your friends, family, neighbours and co-workers to firearms ownership and use in Canada!

Commit to volunteering at your local event, or bringing someone who has not been shooting before. The long-term success of this annual celebration of the shooting sports is in your hands.

Listen to Episode 124 of our podcast for more info.

Nationalrangeday.ca