Parliamentary Committee Notes: Funding to Enhance Canada’s Firearm Control Framework
Date: April 6, 2022
Classification: Unclassified
Branch / Agency: CPB/FPD
Proposed Response:
- Our government is taking decisive action by introducing stronger gun controls and investing in policing, border enforcement and gang prevention strategies.
- We’ve banned over 1,500 models of assault-style firearms and will implement a buy-back program to remove them from our communities.
- We’ve brought into force lifetime background checks to prevent those with a history of violence from owning a gun. We will soon bring into force regulations that will help police trace illegal guns and ensure that firearms licences are verified.
- In Budget 2021, we announced an investment of $312 million over five years, starting in 2021-22, and $41.4 million per year ongoing to implement a suite of measures within Public Safety Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that will increase our capacity to prevent illicit access to firearms through increased investigations and enforcement and to raise awareness of gun laws and programs.
- This funding is part of a comprehensive approach and we will continue to take action in partnership with provinces and territories to combat gun violence, tackle smuggling and trafficking and strengthen our gun control framework.
Financial Implications:
- The 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates C includes vote appropriations of $25,873,764 to support activities enhance Canada’s Firearm Control Framework. This includes:
- $1,672,618 for Public Safety Canada to support legislative and policy development, increase data and research capacity, and launch a public awareness campaign;
- $2,912,747 for the CBSA to enhance intelligence and investigative capacity, expand the use of handheld x-ray units at land and marine ports of entry, test the viability of artificial intelligence and networked threat detection methods, pursue legislative, regulatory and policy development, maintain national training standards (force generation), and provide corporate support (internal services); and,
- $21,288,399 for the RCMP to enhance digital services and modernize information systems to support lawful ownership and increase capacity to trace firearms and address firearms smuggling. This also includes investments to support Criminal Intelligence Service Canada’s new Canadian Criminal Intelligence System that will help all law enforcement in Canada to target and disrupt criminal activity.
Background:
In 2020, while firearm-related violent crimes have been a small proportion of all police-reported violent crime in Canada, the rate of certain violent offences specific to firearms increased for the sixth consecutive year (a 15% increase compared to 2019 according to Statistics Canada’s police-reported crime statistics). Firearm-related homicide has doubled from 2013 (134) to 2020 (277).
The Government of Canada has committed to implementing firearms measures that prioritize public safety while respecting the legal use of firearms by individuals through a regulated and modernized firearms regime. As a result of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 Speeches from the Throne and the associated mandate letters to the Ministers of Public Safety and Justice, the Government took on a broad firearms control agenda that included prohibiting assault-style firearms, combatting the unlawful acquisition of firearms, strengthening measures to combat firearms smuggling, and preventing the diversion of firearms to the illicit market.
On May 1, 2020, the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restricted were amended to reclassify as prohibited approximately 1,500 models of firearms and their variants. Following the ban, the Government declared an amnesty period, which is in effect until October 30, 2023. The Amnesty Order protects affected individuals from criminal liability for illegal possession of a now prohibited firearm in order to afford the individuals with time to dispose of the firearms. Further, the Government announced its intention to establish a buy-back program to offer fair compensation to affected owners and businesses while making sure the program’s implementation is cost-effective. This was reaffirmed in the 2021 Speech from the Throne and Minister’s mandate letter.
To support these and other firearms measures, an investment of $312M over five years was announced in Budget 2021, starting in 2021–22, and $41.4M per year ongoing for PS, CBSA, and the RCMP to implement a suite of measures to further strengthen Canada’s gun control framework, address root causes of gun and gang violence, combat the criminal use and smuggling of firearms, and address intimate partner and gender-based violence.
Financial Implications
In 2021-22, the funding provided to PS is for Vote 1 (Operating), totaling $1.67M, to support policy, legislative, regulatory, and program measures to deliver on the Government’s firearms commitments, enhance data collection and analysis activities and continue to develop and advance this campaign that will raise awareness and educate Canadians on the need to reduce violent crimes through a variety of initiatives, including limiting illicit access to firearms, including assault-style firearms. The funding for PS builds on funding previously appropriated to the Department in the 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates A to develop a buy-back program for assault-style firearms and a national social marketing campaign.
The funding provided to CBSA is for Vote 1 (Operating) and Vote 5 (Capital), totaling $2.91M, to fight gun smuggling, and enhance capacity to support legislative, regulatory and policy development. The bulk of the funding appropriated in 2021-22 will be provided to RCMP for Vote 1 (Operating)), Vote 5 (Capital) and Vote 10 (Contributions), totaling $21.29M, to strengthen services to support the lawful acquisition, ownership and use of firearms, increase capacity to trace firearms, build a national system that allows for the flagging of straw/bulk purchases of firearms, and target firearms smuggling and trafficking.
Contacts:
Prepared by: [REDACTED] – Firearms Policy Division, [REDACTED]
Approved by: Talal Dakalbab, Assistant Deputy Minister, Crime Prevention Branch, 613-852-1167
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