Senator Yussuff: Well, again, thank you for your question and, of course, your comments.

The reality, of course, is I think we probably won’t agree that this bill has achieved balance because you have a perspective, and I respect that. And, equally, I hope that you will respect mine — that there were many witnesses who came before the committee, including the chiefs of police who spoke to provisions in the bill that will interdict guns at the border. They support those measures. They are not against them. I understand that, yes, some of the witnesses do not like certain provisions in the bill and have spoken out against that. But I think that it would be wrong to suggest that there is not support for this bill, for many aspects of it, from the witnesses who came before the committee in the other place to talk about the provisions in the bill.

I do believe in the context of debate around guns in our country, as it is in the other place that we have witnessed, there is always going to be some polarization. But I think that as honourable senators in this place we recognize the importance of trying to find a balance and do the right thing. I think this bill achieves that. It may not be perfect from certain perspectives, but I believe that if it is passed and it should become law, it will make a significant difference in making our country and communities a safer place for all of us.

There will always be those who disagree, who think there should be no restriction on them owning guns in this country. The reality is, I do believe, there have to be some restrictions.

I was fortunate to go to the RCMP gun vault at the beginning of my tenure to understand some of the complexity in the work that they are doing. I came away from there frightened, not because of what they were doing — when they showed me the guns that they had interdicted across the country that I was privy to look at, I was literally scared out of my pants because I could not understand why anyone would want to have any one of those weapons. These were not toys. These were machines that were created to kill human beings in a massive way. They brought them into our country, and they were interdicted. I know there are many in our country today.

My point, senator, is that we will get this bill to committee. I am sure that there are things you and I will disagree on and there are things we will agree on. We recognize we have to do something to improve the safety of Canadians in this country in a variety of ways. Interdicting guns coming in across our borders is one of those. But also trying to deal with gun violence that is happening in our country is another. Trying to ensure that young people do not get into the gun culture in our country is something we can also work at.

As you know, the government has invested a significant amount of resources right across this country, working on the front lines. I think it is wrong for you to say the majority of provinces are against the bill. I know some provinces are against the bill. I live here in Ontario and I certainly know my province has not spoken out against this bill, because there is a recognition in Ontario that we have to do something about gun violence in this country.

Thank you so much for your question. I look forward, of course, to this bill going to committee, and I look forward to you speaking on the bill next week at second reading.