Ottawa may sue U.S. gun makers
SUSAN DELACOURT AND LES WHITTINGTON
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA—Canada is looking into ways to sue U.S. gun manufacturers for the spread of illegal weapons into this country, the Toronto Star has learned.
It's just one part of a multi-faceted crackdown on gun crime, due to be unveiled by the end of November.
The package will follow months of unusual violence in Toronto that came to be known as the Summer of the Gun.
Of the 61 homicides so far this year, 41 have involved firearms, a record number.
The policy will also be seen as another shot by Prime Minister Paul Martin's government across the bow of Canada-U.S. relations.
Government sources told the Star yesterday that Canada will be looking into "every legal option" to stem a tide of crimes involving weapons that make their way into this country illegally from the United States, whether they're sold through the Internet or smuggled across the border.
That includes possible suits against U.S. manufacturers, launched either in the United States or in this country if the firm has assets here as well, the sources said. Though no precise estimates are available, Toronto police have said repeatedly that almost half the gun crimes committed in Canada involved illegal, U.S. weapons.
The anti-gun-crime package will also include:
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Tougher rules on sentencing and parole in gun crimes, including longer minimum sentence provisions and lifetime firearm-ownership bans on repeat offenders. Minimum sentences of one year in some firearms offences could be doubled to two years, and 10-year ownership bans would be extended to lifetime prohibitions, the source said. Details of just exactly which offences would get stricter sentences are now being worked out by justice department officials.
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Expanded community and educational programs in areas where gun crimes have been particularly prevalent, notably in Toronto and in Vancouver. Again, the government is not ready to say how much extra is coming for these programs, only that the boost will involve more cash and more programs, developed in conjunction with the communities most affected by gun crime.
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Improvements to the witness protection program, to encourage people coming forward to reveal and testify against acquaintances who commit gun crimes. This is something that Toronto MPs in particular have been pushing to expand since the city saw a rash of gun crimes last summer.
The proposed new measures are a response to calls for more support to fight crime from Toronto Mayor David Miller. Last month, he asked Ottawa to provide tens of millions of dollars to beef up anti-crime programs for low-income Toronto neighbourhoods.
Miller said the Ottawa should supply more cash for job training and social program for youth in areas like Jane-Finch and Lawrence Heights that has been troubled by gun violence.
Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant has also pushed for action, sending a letter to federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler demanding Ottawa introduce much tougher sentences for gun crimes and "zero tolerance" for illegal possession and use of a firearm. Bryant has also been lobbying his provincial counterparts in an effort to bring pressure to bear on Cotler.
Ironically, Ottawa's new push comes just after the U.S. Congress passed a bill this week that shields gun-makers from lawsuits launched by crime victims. The bill was heartily supported by U.S. President George W. Bush, so Canada's new legal push may well be interpreted as flying in the face of the White House's stand on guns.
Also coming on the heels of stepped-up rhetoric from Martin and his ministers in the softwood trade dispute, it appears the federal government is showing increasing willingness to provocatively wave the Canadian flag in the face of vested U.S. interests, whether it's lumber, oil or now, guns.
"This is not anti-U.S.," a highly placed government source said yesterday, arguing the bill does not make it impossible for Canada to pursue legal challenges to the U.S. gun industry, since it still permits legal action against importers or in cases of other criminal wrongdoing.
Some will see parallels in this legal push to the crusade against tobacco industries, many of whom are also based in the United States. Others will see it in the same vein as the U.S. push last summer to extradite Canadian marijuana activist Marc Emery for alleged cross-border violations of stricter American anti-drug laws. If the U.S. can attempt that kind of extra-territorial push to protect its laws, some Canadians argued at the time, why couldn't Canada reciprocate by similarly stretching its stricter, anti-gun attitude across the border?
Once signed by Bush, the legislation passed by Congress last Thursday is expected to put an end to a half-dozen pending lawsuits against gun manufacturers mounted by U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland, Gary, Ind., and New York City.
The law to shield the gun industry from legal action has been long sought by the National Rifle Association. It was hailed by Bush as a means of stemming "frivolous lawsuits."
David Wilkins, the recently appointed U.S. ambassador to Canada, has said it is unfair for Canadians to blame his country for the upsurge in gun-related violence in Toronto. He said most guns coming into Canada from the United States are purchased by Canadian citizens in violation of U.S. laws at the state level and "smuggled back across the border in violation of your laws."
Promoting parts of Ottawa's get-tough package may require some fancy footwork by Cotler, who has been fending off calls for increased minimum sentences.
Manitoba Attorney General Gord Mackintosh recently urged Ottawa to raise the minimum sentence for people convicted of smuggling guns into Canada to four years in jail from one. He was supported by the Canadian Professional Police Association.
The association also favours a private member's bill brought in by Tory MP Daryl Kemp, which would hike minimum sentences for firearm-related crimes, including a 15-year sentence for crimes in which someone is shot.
