Federal public safety minister in Sask. to advocate for proposed new gun laws

Canada's public safety minister will be in Saskatchewan on Thursday advocating for the government's newly proposed firearms legislation at a national conference.

Minister Marco Mendicino will be speaking at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference and trade show taking place in Regina.

He said his message to delegates will be to support Bill C-21, telling them it’s urgent and needs to be passed as soon as possible.

“Canada is not immune from gun violence and this bill will help keep our communities safer,” Mendicino said, in an interview with CTV Morning Live Regina.

The bill, if passed, would mean a national freeze on importing, buying and selling handguns throughout Canada.

However, current legal handgun owners could continue to possess and use them.

“We’re obviously grieving with the communities of Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, it’s agonizing to see our friends south of the border go through this very difficult moment,” Mendicino said.

“We’ve seen some increases specifically in handgun violence which is why we launched Bill C21.”

Mendicino said Bill C21 also aims to combat organized crime.

“We’re taking it head-on by raising maximum sentences for those who illegally traffic guns across our borders, we’re giving police new powers on wiretapping so we can stop gun crime from occurring in the first place,” he said.

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The minister added that domestic violence with guns would be reduced by introducing new red flag protocols that would allow anyone to go to court and ask a judge to take away somebody’s gun or suspend their license if they pose a threat to anyone.

“When you tape it together, it is the most important piece of gun reform legislation in a generation,” Mendicino said.

When asked about legal and responsible gun owners who feel like they are being unfairly targeted Mendicino said he knows the vast majority of gun owners are law biding.

“They place safety as a paramount value and of course you respect them. What I would say in response is Bill C21 doesn’t target them at all, it targets handgun violence, it targets gun violence. By doing the things I’ve described, we’re aiming to protect Canadians."