‘Gun bans and buyback programs do not work’: TPA
The Toronto Police Association is criticizing the Liberal government’s catch-and-release criminal justice system.
“No surprise we’ve learned the two guns seized in (TPA Division 22) belonged to a man on a release order for 14 charges including forcible confinement, assault with a weapon, and firearms offences,” said the association on social media April 9. “Maybe with an additional 19 charges laid, someone will keep him in custody.
“Gun seizures used to be rare but now they are a daily occurrence, sometimes many times over. Gun bans and buyback programs do not work.”
Toronto police, and many other police, have expressed a growing frustration over the Liberal’s government soft on crime approach in handling repeat offenders and the bail provision amendments that were made to the Criminal Code. The changes were part of the Liberals justice reforms aimed at reducing pretrial detentions.
In 2019 the Liberal government passed Bill C-75 that was supposed to streamline the bail process and focused on reducing the overrepresentation of Indigenous and marginalized individuals in pre-trial custody. It also required judges and justices of the peace to prioritize release over detention and consider release as the “least onerous” conditions possible.
The Criminal Code revisions made it easier for repeat offenders to get out on bail. They also made the criterial for release broader, which critics say have caused an increase in criminal activity and violent crime.
Police forces in larger cities across Canada have reported an increase in assaults, carjackings, and robberies.
“We’ve asked Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre for their positions on this issue because we believe our members and our communities deserve to know how their future Prime Minister intends to support police and public safety,” said the Toronto Police Association. “We look forward to hearing back from them.”
