Federal government willing to toughen gun laws to fight urban crime
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WHITEHORSE (CP) - Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler says he's ready to bring in tougher sentencing for gun crimes if he can get agreement from his provincial and territorial counterparts this week.
"We have to send a strong message with respect to those who would wish to engage in gun-related crime," Cotler said in an interview Monday. "There will be legislative initiatives in that regard . . . . If there is a consensus after I share this with my colleagues, I will be able to move rather quickly."
Cotler said he will outline his proposals over the next two days to his provincial and territorial ministers at a meeting in the Yukon capital.
Included will be measures to strengthen the current mandatory minimum sentences that already apply to some gun offences.
But Cotler said he'd like the sentencing reforms to be part of a wider "tri-partite package" that would also feature steps to ensure more effective law enforcement and greater community involvement in crime-prevention programs.
His comments came after a public appeal by Michael Bryant, the Ontario attorney general, for a "zero tolerance" policy on gun crime.
Nowhere in Canada is the threat of gun violence more prevalent than in Toronto, where 44 lives have been lost to gunplay already this year, Bryant said.
"I think the justice ministers all recognize the serious danger that's taking place here (in Toronto).
"Nobody wants gun crime to move into their province, and by toughening up our gun laws, this will make sure there's nowhere for the gun criminals to go."
Cotler said he's heard the same message from other ministers, including Manitoba's Gordon Mackintosh and Nova Scotia's Michael Baker.
The federal minister refused to go into detail about the legislative changes he has in mind until he formally presents them to the Whitehorse conference.
Bryant has submitted a 15-page brief to the ministers gathered in Whitehorse, calling for stronger sentences and "significant" jail time for anyone who uses a gun to commit a crime.
"If we don't send that message, then we're not providing the appropriate deterrent and punishment for an ever increasing scourge upon our streets in Ontario," he said.
That conference agenda also includes discussions on aboriginal justice, legal aid, domestic violence, organized crime and the drug trade, among other items.
Ontario is seeking to extend mandatory minimum sentences to some offences where they do not currently exist - such as unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, in order to combat drive-by shootings and incidents related to road rage.
Bryant also wants to increase the minimums that do exist, for example in the areas of illegally importing and selling weapons.
Those who participate in the illicit gun trade "are simply not facing the kind of deterrent that I think most Canadians would expect them to face," he said.
The Criminal Code currently provides minimum additional sentences of four years for using firearms to commit certain serious offences, such as attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, hostage-taking, robbery and extortion.
For many other offences, however, including importing, trafficking and simple possession of an unlawful firearm, the mandatory minimum is only one year.
©The Canadian Press, 2005
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WHITEHORSE (CP) - Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler says he's ready to bring in tougher sentencing for gun crimes if he can get agreement from his provincial and territorial counterparts this week.
"We have to send a strong message with respect to those who would wish to engage in gun-related crime," Cotler said in an interview Monday. "There will be legislative initiatives in that regard . . . . If there is a consensus after I share this with my colleagues, I will be able to move rather quickly."
Cotler said he will outline his proposals over the next two days to his provincial and territorial ministers at a meeting in the Yukon capital.
Included will be measures to strengthen the current mandatory minimum sentences that already apply to some gun offences.
But Cotler said he'd like the sentencing reforms to be part of a wider "tri-partite package" that would also feature steps to ensure more effective law enforcement and greater community involvement in crime-prevention programs.
His comments came after a public appeal by Michael Bryant, the Ontario attorney general, for a "zero tolerance" policy on gun crime.
Nowhere in Canada is the threat of gun violence more prevalent than in Toronto, where 44 lives have been lost to gunplay already this year, Bryant said.
"I think the justice ministers all recognize the serious danger that's taking place here (in Toronto).
"Nobody wants gun crime to move into their province, and by toughening up our gun laws, this will make sure there's nowhere for the gun criminals to go."
Cotler said he's heard the same message from other ministers, including Manitoba's Gordon Mackintosh and Nova Scotia's Michael Baker.
The federal minister refused to go into detail about the legislative changes he has in mind until he formally presents them to the Whitehorse conference.
Bryant has submitted a 15-page brief to the ministers gathered in Whitehorse, calling for stronger sentences and "significant" jail time for anyone who uses a gun to commit a crime.
"If we don't send that message, then we're not providing the appropriate deterrent and punishment for an ever increasing scourge upon our streets in Ontario," he said.
That conference agenda also includes discussions on aboriginal justice, legal aid, domestic violence, organized crime and the drug trade, among other items.
Ontario is seeking to extend mandatory minimum sentences to some offences where they do not currently exist - such as unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, in order to combat drive-by shootings and incidents related to road rage.
Bryant also wants to increase the minimums that do exist, for example in the areas of illegally importing and selling weapons.
Those who participate in the illicit gun trade "are simply not facing the kind of deterrent that I think most Canadians would expect them to face," he said.
The Criminal Code currently provides minimum additional sentences of four years for using firearms to commit certain serious offences, such as attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, hostage-taking, robbery and extortion.
For many other offences, however, including importing, trafficking and simple possession of an unlawful firearm, the mandatory minimum is only one year.
©The Canadian Press, 2005
