Senator Plett: Thank you. I’m not sure what Senator Dalphond said, but I’m assuming that it’s okay to ask him a question.

Senator Dalphond, yesterday, when we voted on the report stage of the bill, both you as the sponsor of the bill and, indeed, the government really opposed the motion. You may have said, “on division,” but “on division” means you don’t agree. Can we expect that you will be voting against the bill or on division a little bit later on?

You maybe didn’t get everything you wanted, but you got a bill that you wanted. I find it strange that the sponsor and, indeed, the government would vote on division on their own bill. Would you care to explain your rationale for that?

Senator Dalphond: I will certainly, as I said, call for the vote tonight, I will remain silent and the bill will be adopted on division.

Senator Plett: I would like to ask a couple of more questions, unless somebody else wants to speak. I have a few questions, but I will yield to others if they also do.

Senator Yussuff, in your remarks, you said:

There has been a growing increase in the prevalence of handguns in Canada. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of handguns increased by 74% to 1 million handguns owned by approximately 275,000 individuals in our country.

Research shows that the availability of firearms in developed countries and the incidence of firearm crimes, violence and misuse are correlated.

Senator Yussuff, there is no such correlation between legal handgun purchases in Canada and crime on Canadian streets.

When it comes to handguns, I certainly support us giving our law enforcement all of the tools; you and I agree on that issue. However, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said, “They’re not domestically sourced. They are internationally sourced. Our problem in Toronto is handguns from the United States.”

How is going after our legal sport shooters supposed to reduce the crime on Toronto streets?