Funding police, not handgun bans, solution to gun crime, Ford says
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford has made it clear that he does not plan to bring in a province-wide handgun ban.
The premier told reporters asking about a handgun ban Wednesday that his government has put $185 million into fighting guns and gang violence.
“But when we catch these people, it goes in front of a JP (Justice of the Peace),” Ford said. “They can’t have a slap on the wrist — and you’ve seen it, everyone’s seen it — in two days these guys are running around on the streets.”
The province needs to work with the federal government on changes to the laws to crack down on gun crimes, he said.
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca promised Tuesday that he would implement a province-wide handgun ban within his first year in office if elected to govern on June 2.
Del Duca said a ban on the sale, possession, transport and storage of handguns would decrease gun violence, and he accused the Ford Conservatives of bowing to the gun lobby.
“I have to laugh at that; no gun lobby’s ever had to lobby me,” Ford said. “Invest in our police officers, invest in the gangs and guns division of the police, and give them the tools to go out and arrest these bad guys.”
Del Duca responded later Wednesday, tweeting that the “truth matters … given your denial can you explain the Canada’s National Firearms Association registration to lobby you/your office, Attorney General & Solicitor General against proposals to ban handguns?”
A spokesperson for the premier’s office said they were not aware of any meetings taking place.
Charles Zach, the executive director of Canada’s National Firearms, is on the Ontario Lobbyist Registry for the stated purpose of countering the City of Toronto’s call to the provincial government to ban the sale of ammunition within the municipality.
“The NFA seeks to influence the legislative development process with the aim of minimizing or nullifying the impact of such legislation on affected law-abiding firearms owners and retailers,” the registration says.
The same organization has registered to lobby the federal government – including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office and the House of Commons — to seek “the repeal and replacement of the Firearms Act (Bill C-68), which was introduced into Canadian Parliament in … the promotion of marksmanship and firearm safety and the protection of the right to hunt, and self-defense and property rights.”
The most recent lobbyist information available says the organization met with five federal Conservative MPs and senior representatives of Global Affairs Canada.
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