Parliamentary Committee Notes: Funding to implement firearms legislation combatting firearms crime and to build policy capacity and modernize firearms-related operational services
Proposed Response
- Our Government has taken decisive action to combat firearms crime by introducing stronger firearms legislation and making significant investments in policing, border enforcement, and community gang prevention strategies.
- In addition to passing the most significant changes to firearms legislation in December 2023, we are investing $99.6 million over five years, starting 2024-25 and $13.3 million ongoing to implement this legislation, strengthen data collection and research, launch an awareness campaign, enhance policy capacity, modernize operational services of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Canadian Firearms Program.
- These investments build on the 2021 investment of $312.0 million over five years, starting in 2021-22, and $41.4 million ongoing to Public Safety Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and CBSA to combat firearm smuggling and bolster firearms tracing, as well as for new equipment at the border and intelligence sharing.
- These investments will help make Canadian communities safer and address crime in populations and communities most at risk.
Financial Implications
- The funding for Public Safety Canada was sourced from two funding decisions; an off-cycle request in 2022 and Budget 2024.
- This Supplementary Estimates B proposal is seeking to access a total of $12.2 million in budgetary expenditures (PS and RCMP), with a total of $11.0 million in Vote 1 and $1.2 million in Vote 5 Capital appropriations.
- PS is seeking to access a total of $4.6 million in Vote 1 budgetary expenditures.
- RCMP is seeking to access a total of $7.6 million in budgetary expenditures, with a total of $6.4 million in Vote 1 and $1.2 million in Vote 5 Capital appropriations.
- Of the above, $2.6 million was allocated to Public Safety Canada to build policy capacity. This includes funding to:
- develop and support implementation of firearms policy measures;
- raise awareness of new “red flag” laws introduced in former Bill C-21; and
- in response to recommendations made in the Mass Casualty Commission’s Final Report, enhance firearms data collection and reporting and implement a national awareness campaign.
- Additionally, $1.9 million was allocated to Public Safety Canada and $7.6 million was allocated to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to implement firearms legislation combatting firearms crime.
- Also, through the 2024-25 Supplementary Estimate B, $32.0 million was allocated to Public Safety Canada to support the Assault-Style Firearm Compensation Program and $13.8 million, was allocated to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to support the in-take, verification, and temporary storage of the Assault Style Firearms for licence holders eligible for compensation within its areas of jurisdiction.
Background
From 2016 to 2023, the Government of Canada invested over $1.4 billion to combat gun crime. Prior to Budget 2021, funding supported program measures to address gun and gang violence and increase capacity and technology for law enforcement and border control. Budget 2021 allocated $312.0 million over five years, starting in 2021-22, and $41.4 million ongoing, for the Funding to Enhance Canada’s Firearms Control Framework Horizontal Initiative to implement legislation (e.g. the former Bill C-71 and the former Bill C-21) and to fight gun smuggling and trafficking.
Budget 2024 allocated $22.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25 and $3.3 million ongoing to strengthen Public Safety Canada’s capacity to develop policy and regulatory measures, and to conduct data collection and reporting in support of the federal firearms agenda.
The federal firearms agenda is ambitious and transformative. Public expectations are high for timely implementation and robust engagement for former Bill C-21 and other firearms measures. Former Bill C-21 contains a wide range of measures requiring significant policy and regulatory work, as well as a high degree of horizontal planning and coordination to support effective implementation (e.g., handgun freeze, harm reduction measures). In addition, other public commitments have been made, including to: create regulations to ensure all firearms are accounted for in the classification process before they enter the Canadian market; improve the regulation of secure storage and large capacity cartridge magazines; support the implementation of the markings regime; repeal the Firearms Records Regulations (Classification).
Through this funding, Public Safety Canada will implement this broad agenda, maintain and build core capacity to conduct essential policy and regulatory development and engagement, including data and economic analysis, achieve effective interdepartmental and international collaboration and to ensure an updated and modernized administration of the firearms regime.
Financial Implications
Starting in 2024-25, $2.6 million of the $36.7 million over five years allocated to firearms policy will support Public Safety Canada in raising awareness about the new “red flag” laws, support core firearms policy capacity and engagement activities, strengthen data collection and research, launching a national public awareness campaign, and internal and legal services support.
This builds on the $1.9 million allocated to firearms policy to combat firearms crime in 2024-25 to support Public Safety Canada in providing leadership by conducting research, analysis and policy development on current and emerging firearms issues.
Beginning in 2024-25, $15.8 million of the $103.2 million over three years will be allocated to the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program (ASFCP) to support activities related to notifications to individual firearm owners, divisional collection and verification, second level technical validation, program planning, reporting and oversight, as well as support for the Canadian Firearms Program’s contact centre.
Additionally, $8.2 million of the $59.4 million over five years and $8.3 million ongoing will be allocated to combat firearms crime, strengthen firearms control, and address firearm-related violence, including through legislative, regulatory and policy initiatives, while also investing in community programming and enforcement.
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