Smuggling firearms into Canada is about to become much more difficult now that the federal government has tabled Bill C-21, its sweeping new gun control measures.
Using the east Windsor bowling alley where a shooting injured five people in April as a backdrop, Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk held court to explain the most significant changes to Canada's gun laws in four decades.
(Photo courtesy of @OnLocation via Twitter)
Much of the focus so far has been on the freeze on the handgun market, so-called red flag measures to remove firearms from the homes of those at risk of harming themselves or others, and restrictions on how many rounds a magazine can hold. In Windsor, changes to prevent smuggling are just as important.
Toronto Police Service Deputy Police Chief Myron Demkiw testified before the House of Commons public safety committee in February that 85 per cent of handguns seized by police in his city were traced back to the U.S. Meanwhile, a Statistics Canada report released earlier this week on crime involving firearms showed handguns were involved in 59 per cent of violent gun crime in 2020. In urban areas, they were involved in 63 per cent.
The cities with the highest proportions of violent crime involving guns were Regina, Brantford, Toronto, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Windsor.
So how will new measures stem the tide of firearms coming across the border?
Kusmierczyk said this week's bill builds on last year's $300-million investment for the Canada Border Services Agency.
"It's going to allow them to track and trace guns that are crossing the border. It's going to allow them cooperate better with, not just Canadian law enforcement across all levels, but also with their U.S. counterparts," he said. "Different technologies are going to be incorporated there."
BlackburnNews.com file photo of traffic on the Ambassador Bridge, November 3, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
Border guards will have greater authority to prevent someone without the appropriate firearm licenses and permits from entering Canada. They could even remove that person from the port of entry.
Penalties for smugglers would increase from a possible ten-year prison sentence to 14-years.
In recent years, Windsor has seen an uptick in gun-related crime, from gunshots fired in residential neighbourhoods to shooting incidents like the one outside the east end bowling alley. Since the beginning of the year, guns played a role in incidents on St. Joseph Street, Buckingham Drive, Wyandotte Street West, and Brant Street.
"We're seeing in Canada an uptick in gun violence. We're seeing the tragedies, the individual tragedies in communities, and we're seeing even in our own community," said Kusmierczyk. "Again, five young men shot outside of a bowling alley. The time to act is yesterday."
