Feds to deliver nearly $400M to tackle gun crime

Over the next five years the federal government is providing $390.6 million dollars to provinces and territories to combat gun crime and gang activities.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino made the announcement Monday in Ontario, which stands to receive up to $121 million of those dollars.

“We have our work cut out for us and the federal government is tackling this challenge head on. We’ve got a plan and we’re taking action.”

Mendicino believes the only way to reduce gun violence and to stop crime is by moving forward with three things, strong borders, strong enforcement, and strong prevention.

Part of the government’s plan includes moving forward with Bill C-21, which seeks to ban various types of firearms and has faced criticism from opposition parties for its targeting of hunters and sport shooters.

He also hinted at new legislation geared towards improving the bail system.

“Minister Lametti and I will be introducing new legislation to make changes to our bail system in the very near future, because we know we need to address repeat, violent offenders. Especially those who use guns and weapons.”

This comes several months after calls from provincial and territorial leaders to make it harder for violent offenders to be released following a spike in incidents which resulted in the deaths of several police officers.