Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: Yes, Senator, I’m sure that when the bill comes into force it will save lives. A national freeze on handguns will prevent other shooting tragedies. Handguns are the type of guns used in the vast majority of homicides. The statistics prove it. A national freeze on handguns will reduce handgun violence.

We also need to boost the resources at the Canada Border Services Agency. The government is working on that. Finally, we also need to address the problem at the source through a prevention plan in partnership with local organizations that understand the situation better than we do in this chamber and better than any parliamentarian. They are the ones who understand the risks on the ground. Thanks to this initiative, we could prevent incidents of violence in the future.

[English]

Hon. Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety: As the honourable senator will know, Bill C-5 was a direct response to a number of Supreme Court of Canada decisions that had systematically struck down mandatory minimum penalties, which had stripped the judiciary of their independence and constituted overreach by violating the Charter. Conversely, our government has looked at putting in place important gun-control laws, like Bill C-21, which will reduce gun violence because it strengthens the ban against AR-15-style firearms and puts into place a national freeze on handguns. Those are initiatives that the Conservative Party has committed to repealing, and the result of that would be to relegalize those guns, which have no legitimate recreational purpose.

I would conclude by saying that when it comes to the Winnipeg Police Service, they have acknowledged that the government’s investments, including the $390 million that I just recently announced, will help them do the job on the ground. That is work we will continue to do in partnership with all provinces, territories and municipalities, as well as the police that work in those respective jurisdictions.