Letter to the Chair of SECU re: Bill C-71 Regulations
Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU)
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Carr:

Please accept my congratulations on your appointment as Chair. I look forward to working together on public safety matters. In particular, recent tragic events in Montreal have underscored how firearms violence continues to affect Canadians from all walks of life, and the Government intends to take action in this field. On December 7, Parliament adopted a motion to instruct your committee to undertake, as a priority, a study on gun control, illegal arms trafficking, and the increase in gun crimes committed by members of street gangs. I look forward to appearing in committee to discuss this matter, and stand ready to assist your committee in any way requested.

On a related matter, I wish to take this opportunity to call to your committee’s attention to the fact that, on June 21, 2021, the Government tabled proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Firearms Act, in both Houses of Parliament, as required by Section 118 of the Firearms Act. The proposed regulations were referred to SECU on the same day, as required by the Act, which requires the tabling before each House of Parliament, for a period of up to 30 sitting days. This period may be shortened if the committee initiates inquiries and reports to the House, or decides not to do so.

Should the committee choose to study the regulations, I would urge it to be prioritized. My officials and I stand ready to assist the committee’s review. Alternatively, should the committee decide not to initiate inquiries, I would be grateful to be advised of your decision at the earliest opportunity.

Addressing firearms violence is a priority shared by all Canadians. Implementing the firearms control measures proposed in the regulations would strengthen the licence verification process for transfers of non-restricted firearms, and standardize and improve firearms business record-keeping practices for non‑restricted firearms.

The regulations are critical to public safety, in that they make certain that firearms do not end up in the hands of criminals, and they enable better tracing of crime guns.

These provisions were studied extensively at your committee back in 2019 and received Royal Assent, and this is just formalizing that work.

To assist the committee, I am enclosing, in both official languages, copies of the proposed regulations and the Regulatory Impact Assessment Statement that was published in Part I of the Canada Gazette for public comment on June 26, 2021.

Yours sincerely,

The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P.

Enclosures: (2)

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