Government Measures to Reduce Gun Violence

Date: October 23, 2020

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

Branch/Agency: CSCCB/ Public Safety

• The 2020-21 Main Estimates seeks appropriations of $85 million to take action against gun and gang violence:
  • $48.8 million to Public Safety for the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence.
    • $46.3 million is allocated to the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund, which includes both $44.2 million in contribution funding for provinces and territories to support prevention and enforcement activities and $2.1 million in funding for the Youth Gang Prevention Fund; and
    • $2.5 million to Public Safety to administer the contribution agreements, conduct research and enhance federal leadership of the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence.
  • $30.8 million for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to reduce border-related gang activity and prevent smuggled firearms from entering the country; and
  • $5.4 million for the RCMP for operating and capital expenditures that will enhance capacity to support investigations through intelligence gathering and analysis, firearms identification and training, expert advice, access to specialized databases and training.
• Contribution agreements are now in place with all provinces and territories with the exception of PEI who is in the process of finalizing their agreement.  We look forward to learning about how these investments are helping youth-at-risk and making a difference in our communities.
• Our Government remains committed to strengthening gun control and preventing illegal firearms from entering our country.
• The May 1st  ban of over 1,500 models of assault-style firearms was only the first step in a series of measures that our Government will take to target firearms-related crime and keep our communities safe.

If pressed on buyback:

• We have signaled our intent to implement a buyback program as soon as possible to remove the newly-prohibited firearms from the Canadian market. We are looking at a range of options, and will work with Parliament, as well as provincial and territorial partners to get this right for law-abiding gun owners and businesses while making sure that program costs are well-priced and sustainable.
• This is why my Department will publish a new request for proposal in the month of October, seeking professional services for the development of advice on options and approaches to inform:
  • the development of firearms pricing models; and  
    • the design, implementation and management of a buyback program for recently prohibited firearms.
• Although the results of the first bid evaluation process were negative, my Department has held extensive consultations with prospective bidders and is positioned to release a revised request for proposal services in the coming weeks.

If pressed on additional gun control measures:

• I have been very clear that we need to strengthen Canada’s gun control framework and this Government intends to introduce a red-flag regime to reduce cases of intimate partner violence and suicide by temporarily removing firearms from individuals who pose a danger to themselves or their partners or kids.
• We will strengthen firearms storage requirements to deter theft, enhance police tracing capacity and work with our partners from other levels of government to give municipalities the ability to further restrict handguns. 
• We know that we must do more to prevent smuggled guns from entering Canada. That is why we will introduce tougher penalties for trafficking and smuggling offences.  We will also continue to make important investments in the RCMP and CBSA to strengthen border controls and reduce the number of guns being smuggled across our borders.
• We will also establish a dedicated funding stream for municipalities to fight gang-related violence and expand diversion programs that keep at-risk youth out of the criminal justice system.

Background:

Budget 2018 invested up to $327.6M over five years to establish The Initiative to Take Action against Gun and Gang Violence (ITAAGGV). It is a horizontal initiative led by Public Safety Canada (PS) with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the RCMP.

The majority of financial resources, approximately $222M over five years, are allocated to provinces and territories (PTs), under the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund (GGVAF), to combat the issue of gun and gang violence in communities across Canada by distributing to partners within their jurisdiction that can help:

• Develop and deliver gun and gang violence prevention and intervention initiatives;
• Enhance law enforcement and prosecution capacity to address gun and gang violence;
• Support data gathering/reporting, and research, knowledge development and information around gun and gang violence;
• Provide training for enforcement, prevention or other professionals; and,
• Support for the development/refinement of strategies on gun and gang violence and the measurement of results of initiatives. 

In 2020-21, the bulk of the funding provided to PS is Vote 5 (Grants and Contributions), totaling approximately $46.3M, that includes $44.2M for the GGVAF and $2.1M for the Youth Gang Prevention Fund. PS also receives Vote 1 (O&M) funding of approximately $2.5M to administer the grants and contributions, conduct research and enhance federal leadership in addressing gun and gang violence.

Twelve PTs have signed multi-year funding agreements under the GGVAF. Prince Edward Island is currently engaged in the signature process for their contribution agreement. Jurisdictions have prioritized a number of initiatives including:

• Ontario has launched Justice Centres holding individuals accountable for their offences while connecting them to services (such as health, mental health, addictions, housing, and employment supports) that reduce the risk of re-offending;
• Québec is developing an approach to street work in Aboriginal communities via a pilot project to support communities and increase the protectives factors for Aboriginal youth; and
• Nunavut is raising public awareness of firearm safety and the root causes of violence and mental health challenges through a multi-faceted educational campaign.

The Canada Border Services Agency

$51.2M is provided to the CBSA over five years to enhance their capacity to stem the flow of inadmissible travellers and illegal firearms from entering Canada at vulnerable points of entry and through processing postal facilities. In 2020-21, the CBSA will receive $30.8M to invest in the deployment of additional Detector Dog Teams, the construction and finalization of the All Weather Facility, the pilot and training stages of the Advanced Vehicle Concealment course, as well as procured and installed equipment (e.g. handheld devices, vehicles, trace detection tools etc.) to enhance air cargo security and pallet imaging.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

$34.5M over five years is provided to the RCMP, with $5.4M in 2020-21, to support the new Integrated Criminal Firearms Initiative (ICFI) which expands the services available to law enforcement by enhancing several capabilities to better combat the use of illegal firearms and improve the national collection, analysis and sharing of firearms-related intelligence and information. More specifically, the ICFI includes new resources to:

• Enhance the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST)’s investigative support capacity across Canada;
• Identify and support intelligence-development related to street gangs within the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, as well as enhance both the regional intelligence footprint and analytical capacity to provide actionable intelligence in support of enforcement within the National Intelligence Coordination Centre; and
• Develop and anonymous online capacity that will gather intelligence on online firearms trafficking and smuggling.

Designing a Buyback Program: Request for Proposal and Way Forward

In August 2020, Public Safety Canada published a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking professional services for the development of advice on options and approaches to inform firearms pricing models, as well as the design, implementation and management of a buyback program for recently prohibited firearms. The original RFP closed on September 9. Unfortunately, the bid evaluation process did not yield to the identification of a winning bidder. This is an unfortunate yet not uncommon outcome in the sphere of public procurement. Public Safety has redeveloped the RFP based on extensive consultations with the Industry, and is prepared to launch a new RFP the week of October 13. This should lead to a contract award sometime in the late November timeframe.

The RFP is built in two phases. The first focuses on developing pricing and compensation models and design options. The second, determined through a task authorization process, will focus on the implementation, while the exact tasks and scope will be further refined with the successful contractor and will be based upon the outcomes of phase 1. Overseeing the storage, transportation and destruction of confiscated firearms would not be services covered under the current RFP. The contractor is expected to complete extensive research in order to develop various options required under the contract, and may be privy to some personal information. To that extent, the security clearance requirements have been established accordingly.

The cost for phase 1 of the contract will be negotiated with the successful supplier and will be available after the contract is awarded. The cost for the second phase of the work will be determined once the specific tasks are defined.

Both Public Safety Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will be ready to work with and assist the winning bidder to advance its work as expeditiously as possible.

Contacts:

Prepared by: [Redacted]
Prepared by: [Redacted]
Approved by: [Redacted]

Date modified:

2021-03-12