Maximum Federal Penalty for Gun Trafficking Has Never Been Imposed: Report

Rifles on display at an Ottawa hunting store in a file photo. CP Photo/Jonathan Hayward

Canada’s maximum federal penalty for gun trafficking, which is a 10-year prison sentence, has never been imposed despite the Liberal government proposing it be increased to 14 years, according to an Inquiry of Ministry recently tabled in the House of Commons.

The inquiry showed that 390 individuals had been convicted on charges relating to firearms trafficking over the past eight years, but that none had received the maximum 10-year sentence, reports Blacklock’s Reporter.

The inquiry was requested by Conservative MP Adam Chambers, who asked in the House on Dec. 9: “With regard to the measures in Bill C-21 to increase the maximum penalties from 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment for certain firearms-related offences: a) how many people have been convicted since January 1, 2016? And b) of those convicted, how many received the maximum sentence?”

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said in the House on Dec. 7 that the Liberal government’s proposed Bill C-21 will “give additional tools to police, including raising maximum sentences to go after hardened gun traffickers.”

“If the Conservatives were serious about protecting our communities from gun violence, they would reverse their position and support these measures,” Mendicino said.

The Conservatives have criticized the government’s proposed legislation, saying it will target law-abiding gun owners rather than criminals.

Legislation removing mandatory minimum sentences for certain gun crimes, among others, recently came into law after being granted royal assent on Nov. 18.

In total, Bill C-5 removes 20 mandatory minimum sentences, including previously mandatory jail time for criminals convicted of “weapons trafficking,” “possession for purpose of weapons trafficking,” and “importing or exporting knowing it is unauthorized.”

“We have heard Canadians, the courts and criminal justice experts,” reads the government’s backgrounder on Bill C-5, which says the mandatory minimum sentences removed through the legislation previously contributed to “systemic racism” in Canada’s criminal justice system and over-representation of “marginalized communities” in federal prisons.

Gun Trafficking

An Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the House in November showed that less than 5,000 guns had been seized at Canada’s border since January 2017.

Mendicino told reporters in August that 2021 was a record year for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) seizing guns at the border, but added “there is still a lot more work to do.”

The CBSA will be getting more resources to assist them in detecting cross-border firearms smuggling, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said in October the federal government’s new funding will allow the agency to deploy x-ray truck scanners.

However, the Commons public safety committee heard earlier this year that an overwhelming majority of guns are smuggled into Canada through railway transportation, which is relatively unmonitored.

“There’s almost a zero percent chance that any illegal weapons entering the country via rail will ever be found,” testified Mark Weber, national president of the customs and immigration union, on Feb. 1.

The Conservatives have called on the government to enhance the country’s border security measures to intercept gun smuggling.

Bill C-21, which will render illegal a number of rifles and shotguns commonly used for hunting, ignores the “real problem,” says Conservative MP Richard Martel.

“Since the Liberals took office, violent crime has risen by 32 percent and gang-related murders are up 92 percent,” Martel said in the House on Dec. 5.

“[The government] should have done something about the illegal gun trafficking at the border a long time ago.”