The Coalition for Gun Control Applauds the Mass Casualty Commission's Comprehensive call to Action

TORONTO, March 30, 2023 /CNW/ - The Coalition for Gun Control (CGC) thanks the Mass Casualty Commission and all of the parties involved for their final report into "the most lethal mass shooting in Canada's civilian history." 

"The impact of this horrific event on the victims, their families and the community is unimaginable," said CGC president and co-founder Wendy Cukier.  "While nothing can undo the devastation and the damage, we hope we can work to prevent future tragedies."

"The Commission's report is extensive – seven volumes on different dimensions of the tragedy and we have not yet had time to review it in detail," said co-counsel to the Commission for CGC, Joanna Birenbaum. "We are encouraged to find that many of the recommendations from our submissions with respect to Canada's gun control regime and its implementation is reflected in the recommendations in Volume 4, Chapter 13, Access to Firearms and Community Safety."

The Commission reinforces a seminal point that a "right to bear arms" is not part of Canadian law or history, and that it too often dominates discussions of gun control.

The Commission also provides specific recommendations regarding the banning of firearms where the risk outweighs the benefits. Recommendation C.21 calls on the federal government to prohibit all semi-automatic handguns and all semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that discharge centre-fire ammunition and that are designed to accept detachable magazines with capacities of more than five rounds," and other amendments to the Criminal Code that close loopholes in relation to the purchase of ammunition, magazines, as well as stockpiling and circulation of semi-automatic weapons.

Cukier adds, "We hope that these recommendations in particular will lead all-parties to expeditiously press for the passage and implementation of Bill C-21 – the delays are putting lives at risk."

Amanda Dale, Research Fellow at the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa, who contributed to the Commission as an expert noted,  "Recommendation C.22 advances a number of elements that make good on the promise to tackle the epidemic of gender-based, intimate partner and family violence. This includes revocation of the firearms licences of those convicted of domestic violence, and suspension of licences where charges have been laid, shifting the burden of proof of risk from survivors of violence to alleged perpetrators."

The Commission's final report reinforces the importance of a multi-layered public health approach which addresses the root causes of violence and reinforces the role of the community in helping to prevent gun violence. Given the extensive evidence in this case, and as in many others, community members were aware of risks and either did not bring them forward or did so and were ignored, we are especially pleased with the recommendation of a 24-hour emergency hotline to ensure action is taken when concerns are raised.

Better firearms control at our borders, prevention of unlawful transfers of firearms, and overall focus on effective, consistent, and accountable enforcement of firearms regulations are critical and the CGC is encouraged to see them reflected in recommendations. We also see our concerns with inadequate collection of and reporting on data on firearms incidents and deaths in Canada is addressed in order to be able to understand and prevent such deaths. And, we believe that Canada must prioritize its current international treaty obligations, further recommending that we advance our ratification of specific measures that would bring Canada into compliance with current international norms and standards (Rec. C-25 (d)).

About the Coalition for Gun Control:

The CGC is a non-profit organization founded in response to the mass casualty at the Éole Polytechnique in Montréal in 1989 that killed 14 women and injured many others. Its position on firearms regulation is supported by more than 200 organizations, including the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, Canadian Paediatric Society, Canadian Public Health Association, Victims Justice Network, Canadian Council of Muslim Women, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, Canadian Federation of University Women, Canadian Women's Foundation, Montreal Assault Prevention Centre, PolySeSouvient, Unifor Women's Department, Women's Shelters Canada, and YWCA Canada.

SOURCE Coalition for Gun Control

Kathleen Powderley, 416-803-5597, [email protected]; Joanna Birenbaum, co-counsel to the CGC at the MCCC, [email protected]; Wendy Cukier, CGC, [email protected]; Amanda Dale, Research Fellow, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa, [email protected]; Mercedes Perez, co-counsel to the CGC at the MCCC, [email protected]