Parliamentary Committee Notes: Action Against Gun and Gang Violence related to Bail Reform

Date: March 20, 2023
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch / Agency: CPB

Issue:

Gun and gang violence funding programs   

Proposed Response:

Background:

Over the past year, public shootings have increased in Canada’s larger municipalities. In 2021, shootings involved potential mistaken identities, and retaliatory shooting deaths in public, high traffic areas. Child and youth victims continue to be caught in the crossfire in places such as playgrounds, downtown streets, strip malls and housing complexes. Mistaken identity injuries and homicides, as well as shootings targeting community youth workers, and affecting innocent bystanders have become more visible over the past three years.

Firearm-related homicide doubled from 2013 to 2017 (134 to 267), fell slightly in 2018 (249), and increased again in 2019 (261), 2020 (277), and 2021 (297). Shootings are the most common method of homicide and have been generally increasing over the last nine years, seeing an 121% increase from 2013 to 2021. Nationally, there were 184 gang-related homicides in 2021, 33 more than in 2020. The majority (74%) were committed with a firearm, most often a handgun (65%). In 2021, gang-related homicide committed with a firearm represented 17% of all homicides, a larger proportion than in 2020 (14%). In 2021, gang-related homicides continued to account for about    one-quarter (23%) of all homicides and marked the highest rate (0.48 per 100,000 population) recorded in Canada since comparable data were first collected in 2005.

In 2021, there were 8,047 victims of violent crime where a firearm was present, accounting for 2.6% of all victims of violent crime. The rate of firearm-related violent crime has been considerably higher in rural Northern regions of Canada (107.1 victims per 100,000 population) than the rural South (26.7) and urban areas (24.8). In 2021, the rural North experienced the highest rate of firearm-related violent crime since comparable data became available in 2009.

Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence

Since 2018, $358.8 million over five years has been allocated for theITAAGGV, with an anticipated $100 million ongoing subject to approval. The majority of funds (over $214 million) are allocated to provinces and territories (P/T) under the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund (GGVAF) to combat gun and gang violence in communities across Canada. Partners are currently using funds to:

All P/Ts signed multi-year funding agreements under the GGVAF set to end in March 2023. The Treasury Board submission was approved for the ITAAGGV renewal on February 16, 2023 (announcement pending).

The Province of Ontario funded Intensive Firearm Bail Support Teams and the East Region Guns and Gangs Team to work with local police divisions to present the best available evidence to the court.

The Government also provided $125 million to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canada Border Services Agency to enhance firearms investigations and strengthen controls at the border to prevent illegal firearms from entering the country.

Building Safer Communities Fund

In the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, the federal government announced $250 million in funding for municipalities and Indigenous communities to implement prevention and intervention programs to reduce gun and gang violence. The $250 million initiative was approved in June 2021, and the Minister announced the program on March 16, 2022.

Recipients have been identified via an evidence-based methodology founded on two major elements: crime severity (using three indicators: firearms homicide data, mean firearms incidence, and mean organized crime data), and population data to determine a per year funding allocation.

Contacts:

Prepared by: Christina Aquilina, Policy Advisor, (343)-574-4319

Approved by: Talal Dakalbab, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, 613-852-1167

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