Home Newsroom 2004 Speeches (archive) McLellan: 2004-05-20

Press conference on improvements to the Canadian Firearms Program

Speaking notes for
The Honourable Anne McLellan

Edmonton, Alberta
May 20, 2004

As delivered

The package of reforms we are announcing will speak to controlling and containing costs while getting tougher on gun crime and making compliance easier for legitimate gun owners and users.

Before I get into the details, I would like to thank my colleague, Minister Albina Guarnieri for her hard work on this issue. As many of you know, Minister Guarnieri took up the challenge of reviewing this program at the request of the Prime Minister and myself. She was asked to make recommendations that ensure the objective of public safety – that would ensure the objective of public safety while improving the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the program. Also I would like to thank the many Canadians who met with Minister Guarnieri during the period of her review.

I would also like to thank Minister Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, who has been instrumental in ensuring that we respond appropriately to the seriousness of gun crime. My colleague, Minister Alcock, will set out the details around the measures that we are taking to control and cap costs.

I would like to take this opportunity first to remind Canadians about the value of our Firearms Program. Since December 1998, more than 12,000 licenses have been refused or revoked. That means this program has helped to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them. About 6,000 firearms have been traced in gun crimes and firearm trafficking cases within Canada and internationally.

And in terms of the value of this program to the police, they have direct access to the Canadian Firearms Registry online and they use it regularly. In fact, in the last year, over 600,000 inquiries were made by police officers. These are significant operational facts.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Canadians have told us, in no uncertain terms, that they want us to get tough on gun crimes and enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies to address gun crime and smuggling.

We will help to create a Canadian Integrated Ballistics Information Network by placing three new ballistic identification machines in Halifax, Regina and Vancouver. These will be in addition to the ones already operating in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. This will boost law enforcement’s capability to conduct forensic analysis and firearms tracking.

Second, the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST) will receive the resources it needs to continue to provide its services to police forces in communities across Canada and to international partners. NWEST’s innovative approach is clearly a success story in Canadian law enforcement.

And third, we will make key investments to help enhance criminal intelligence capacity in our law enforcement agencies. For example, the collection of vital public safety information on the registration, ownership and movement of firearms across the border will be enhanced.

The Government will also establish tougher measures when firearms are used in committing a crime. In terms of specific measures:

• We will strengthen certain Criminal Code penalties to deter the possession of loaded handguns in public places – including increasing the current minimum penalty of one year.
• We will seek to change the Criminal Code provisions around the minimum penalty for weapons trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
• We will enact that judges must give specific consideration to domestic violence in deciding whether to order a prohibition for the possession of firearms.

We will be consulting with provincial Attorneys General on these proposed amendments.

We are equally determined to make it easier for firearms’ owners and firearms related businesses to comply with the requirements of the Canada Firearms Program.

We will eliminate fees for the registration and transfer of firearms. We will streamline the license renewal process. We will create a Firearms Working Group representing a wide cross-section of expertise, especially users, to provide ongoing advice on service delivery and technical policy. We will consult with Aboriginal people about more effective delivery of the Firearms Program in their communities.

Taken together, these improvements will make the Canadian Firearms Program more responsive to the needs of firearm owners and the businesses that serve them.

Canadians have made it clear that they want a system of gun control that focuses on the criminal use of firearms. We believe that these changes will do that. Thank you very much.