Juno News - October 05, 2022


Conservative MPs challenge Marco Mendicino over Liberal gun buyback scheme


Episode Stats

Length

8 minutes

Words per Minute

179.86084

Word Count

1,551

Sentence Count

78

Misogynist Sentences

1

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Minister, I know that you've gone across the country, as have I, and met with police forces.
00:00:04.000 What I'm hearing is that they are stretched quite thin.
00:00:06.620 Are you hearing the same thing?
00:00:11.340 Thank you, Ms. Dancho.
00:00:13.080 There's no doubt that we need to support law enforcement, domestic law enforcement,
00:00:16.960 and that's one of the reasons why we have created an anti-gun.
00:00:22.780 Sorry, if I could just complete the answer.
00:00:25.120 What I'm asking is if you have heard that police forces, their resources are stretched quite thin.
00:00:28.700 They're having challenges keeping up with the crime that we're seeing.
00:00:32.160 That's what I have heard.
00:00:33.020 Do you agree?
00:00:34.400 I was trying to complete my answer, Ms. Dancho, and I think I'm being responsive to your question,
00:00:39.520 which is that I acknowledge that we need to support domestic law enforcement,
00:00:43.420 which is what we are doing through our anti-guns and gangs fund.
00:00:47.680 Those resources are being transferred to provincial and territorial partners,
00:00:50.280 which in turn filters through to domestic police, and we'll continue to do that.
00:00:53.840 Thank you, Minister.
00:00:54.560 So I would take that as a tacit yes.
00:00:56.240 You would agree that police resources are stretched thin, and they require more resources.
00:01:01.220 We're also seeing violent crime has increased over the past seven years by 32 percent.
00:01:05.020 Are you familiar with that statistic?
00:01:07.080 I'm alarmed by it, which is why we can't accept the status quo.
00:01:10.080 The violent crime severity index is also up 18 points,
00:01:12.840 and there were more than 124,000 additional violent crimes last year than in 2015.
00:01:17.700 Are you familiar with that as well?
00:01:19.260 I am, which is why we presented Bill C-21.
00:01:21.480 The vast majority of gun crime is caused by gangs and criminals using illegally obtained firearms.
00:01:26.640 Do you agree?
00:01:27.620 Which is why we've got new tools in Bill C-21 to combat organized crime.
00:01:31.540 According to Toronto Police, guns smuggled in from the United States represent upwards of 9 out of 10 handguns used in crime.
00:01:36.840 Do you agree?
00:01:37.560 Which is why we invested $321 million since last year and seized a record number of guns last year at the border.
00:01:43.360 During the 2019 federal campaign, the Liberal platform stated that your confiscation regime of firearms would cost between $400 and $600 million.
00:01:51.080 Recent estimates put it upwards of $5 billion.
00:01:54.660 That's considerably more money than you're investing in additional border protection.
00:01:58.840 Is that correct?
00:02:00.100 Well, I would begin by saying that assault-style rifles have no place in our communities,
00:02:04.560 which is why we want to implement a buyback program to get them out once and for all.
00:02:08.000 I think it is very concerning that we're seeing a rise of gun violence in our cities.
00:02:12.140 And as I've outlined, and you seem to have agreed that the problem certainly is gun smuggling,
00:02:17.040 but you're investing considerably less money in border enforcement and considerably less money in community protection,
00:02:22.620 although you've acknowledged that that is the primary source of gun violence in our country.
00:02:26.920 I do want to switch gears a little bit and talk about firearms owners.
00:02:29.340 I am a firearm owner.
00:02:30.580 Minister, I'm quite concerned of recent news that your government will be redirecting police resources,
00:02:35.780 which we've outlined today in our conversation, are stretched quite thin,
00:02:39.480 dealing with a 32 percent increase in violent crime since your government's been in office.
00:02:43.720 You're planning to redirect RCMP resources and possibly other police resources to your confiscation regime.
00:02:50.940 Can you comment on that?
00:02:52.140 Well, I think that it's based on some false assumptions, which is that—
00:02:55.380 So you won't be redirecting RCMP resources?
00:02:57.120 Well, again, if I could just be permitted to answer your question, which is a thoughtful one.
00:03:01.380 Ensuring that police services who operate within provincial boundaries have the resources necessary to enforce laws to keep our communities safe
00:03:13.160 is not mutually exclusive to buying back assault-style rifles, and the reason is simple.
00:03:19.000 Those guns were designed with one purpose in mind, and that is to kill.
00:03:22.300 And so we believe that by taking them out of our communities, we'll provide that program with fair compensation.
00:03:28.460 If I may just conclude, I would urge you to reconsider redirecting police resources to your confiscation regime.
00:03:33.820 I think it is reckless and will further endanger our communities.
00:03:36.800 Minister. Thank you, Chair.
00:03:38.080 Minister, I have an engagement paper that was sent out by your department in October of 2018
00:03:42.360 that directly states under the heading International Experience that, quote,
00:03:45.860 In all cases, the data does not conclusively demonstrate that these handgun or assault weapon bans have led to any reduction in gun violence, end quote.
00:03:55.160 Your own ministry recognizes that there isn't data to support your buyback argument.
00:04:00.100 Why are you wasting billions of dollars on a scheme that hasn't worked?
00:04:04.380 Before I begin, I wonder if I could be permitted to actually complete an answer.
00:04:08.400 If you're not interested and you would just like to read from your sheet, you can do that.
00:04:11.860 But I'd like to be able to finish.
00:04:13.880 Is that okay?
00:04:15.860 We took the decision to ban assault-style rifles because they were designed to kill.
00:04:21.080 We looked at some very careful standards around the definition, which is contained in the order in Council,
00:04:29.300 and we are now setting about the launch of a buyback program so that we can get these guns out of our community
00:04:35.980 because we owe it to the victims to make sure there isn't another tragedy or mass casualty.
00:04:40.480 The fact is, you don't have any studies that demonstrate that this is going to enhance public safety.
00:04:44.720 Minister, since you believe that a gun buyback for law-abiding firearms owners will enhance public safety,
00:04:50.160 as you just said, why are you also not launching a gun buyback for illegal firearms possessed by criminals?
00:04:56.500 Well, in the first instance, we've put in place a national handgun freeze and a ban on importing additional handguns into the country,
00:05:04.820 which is a measure you oppose.
00:05:07.340 I'm talking about buybacks, though, Minister.
00:05:09.240 Well, if I could just be permitted to finish, Mr. Lloyd.
00:05:12.140 You also oppose our national ban on assault-style rifles, and you would propose to make them illegal again,
00:05:17.940 which we think is fundamentally wrong.
00:05:18.460 You're not answering the question, Minister.
00:05:19.880 You're dancing around the question.
00:05:21.300 Why don't you have a program to buy back illegal firearms from criminals on the street?
00:05:26.460 Why aren't you putting a program like that in place?
00:05:28.360 Well, we've taken a very concrete and tangible step forward to addressing handgun violence
00:05:34.220 through the introduction of a national handgun freeze,
00:05:37.220 and we're also going to get assault-style rifles out of our communities in collaboration with our partners.
00:05:42.120 Minister, wouldn't you agree that it'd be more beneficial for public safety
00:05:45.060 to get a buyback and a legal firearm off the street
00:05:48.000 rather than buying back a firearm from a sport shooter in Barrie, Ontario?
00:05:51.520 Well, the first thing I would say, Mr. Lloyd, and I've said this before,
00:05:56.040 is that I respect law-abiding gun owners.
00:05:58.860 But then why do you have a program that only targets them?
00:06:01.520 Why don't you have a program to get illegal guns off the street by buying it back from criminals?
00:06:06.120 Well, you and I disagree about that, but I do respect law-abiding gun owners.
00:06:08.460 You don't think that a buyback program for criminals would be effective?
00:06:11.600 We've taken the judgment that when it comes to assault-style rifles
00:06:15.060 that they have no place in our communities,
00:06:16.640 and we've also taken the largest step forward,
00:06:19.620 probably in a generation with C-21,
00:06:21.980 by putting in place a national handgun freeze
00:06:24.380 so that we can reverse the trend
00:06:26.280 and the growth of a universe of a type of gun
00:06:29.600 by about 45,000 to 55,000 new registrations every year.
00:06:32.680 Minister, my next question is,
00:06:34.280 you're seeking to cap magazine size to no more than five rounds.
00:06:37.300 Is that correct, yes or no?
00:06:38.400 Yes.
00:06:39.320 Will this apply to all long guns or only semi-automatics?
00:06:42.800 Well, what we have proposed is certainly with regards to…
00:06:47.620 Will it apply to all long guns?
00:06:49.620 No.
00:06:50.760 No.
00:06:50.820 Okay, so will it…
00:06:53.180 Do you understand the Lee-Enfield rifle is a commonly used hunting rifle?
00:06:56.660 It has 10 rounds in the magazine.
00:06:58.340 You're aware of that?
00:07:00.300 I have heard that.
00:07:01.780 Is the Lee-Enfield rifle, because it has 10 rounds in its magazine,
00:07:05.280 on the list of things that will be regulated?
00:07:08.320 Let me take a step back and tell you why it is that we've put these standards into the bill.
00:07:14.860 We think that by doing so that we will reduce gun violence.
00:07:18.140 See, the important thing, Minister, is that these firearms are predominantly used by Indigenous people
00:07:23.100 to fulfill their traditional treaty hunting rights.
00:07:26.280 And if you are limiting their ability to use a Lee-Enfield because of C-21,
00:07:31.240 you're limiting Indigenous rights.
00:07:32.700 This violates Section 35 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
00:07:35.740 How is this not colonialism, Minister?
00:07:37.420 Well, we're consulting with Indigenous communities, and we have and will continue to consult on Bill C-21.
00:07:44.760 Good.
00:07:45.260 And we're listening very carefully to Indigenous leaders to make sure that for those who hunt as part of their tradition,
00:07:52.800 or who hunt to eat, that this bill will be consistent with those principles of reconciliation.
00:07:59.180 And I assure you, those conversations are ongoing.
00:08:01.600 Thank you.
00:08:07.420 Thank you.