Feds give Toronto $6.7M to fight gun violence; won’t rule out handgun ban
TORONTO — The federal government has not ruled out further restrictions or even an outright ban on handguns to combat gun-related violence, Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair said on Thursday as he announced funding to address youth crime in Toronto.
The spike in shootings the city has seen this year has echoes across the country and is partly the result of vulnerable youth getting drawn into street gangs, said Blair, who has been consulting on potential law changes.
“We are considering any and all measures,” Blair said. “(But) if all we focus on is putting people in jail and not preventing these crimes, we will continue to see an escalation of violence.”
The federal money for Toronto comes at a time when Premier Doug Ford is under fire for cutting funding for various social and community supports for young people. Participants at the announcement stressed the importance of all three levels of government working to deal with the crime issue.