The Alberta government says it supports Calgary city council’s initiative to tackle the growing issue of drug-related gun violence and crime.
A committee voted 4-3 on Tuesday to ask council to look at creating a public safety task force following a notice of motion from Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Coun. George Chahal aimed at addressing the city’s rising crime rates.
That was in response to the violent start to the new year, including four homicides and several other shootings and stabbings police believe may be related to the drug trade.
“There is a real problem here in Calgary right now, especially about gun violence,” Premier Jason Kenney said on Tuesday. “It is a terrible issue and I want to thank Councillor George Chahal for raising the alarm about this.
“We would certainly be willing to cooperate with the City of Calgary in a task force to find solutions to crack down on the gun violence, particularly in the northeast quadrant of the city.”
Kenney said it’s “no secret” the recent spike in violence is related to “drug gangs engaged in a turf war affair.”
“The groups themselves are fluid — they move between the different groups but they also move around geographically between cities — not only in the province but also around the country,” Neufeld said at the time.
Kenney said Tuesday there needs to be more serious consequences for people involved in drug trafficking.
“We need, I think, much tougher enforcement of the laws against drug trafficking,” Kenney said. “I regret that the Trudeau government repealed the Harper government’s tough mandatory minimum prison sentences for the illegal possession of firearms and for serious narcotics offences. I call on the federal government to bring back those tough penalties.”
The Trudeau government, however, did not repeal that legislation. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2016 that the then-Conservative government’s “tough-on-crime” mandatory minimum sentence laws were unconstitutional and violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
‘Criminals do not respect gun bans’
Kenney said while he and his government would work with the city, he is still against the possibility of introducing a provincial firearms ban.
“In terms of the bans — listen, criminals do not respect gun bans. By definition, they are already engaged in the lawless use of firearms. So I don’t see how criminalizing law-abiding firearms owners is a solution to the illegal misuse of firearms by criminals,” he said.
“Let’s focus the laws and the enforcement activities on the criminals, not people who go to a legal gun range and observe the very stringent laws that already exist.”
Kenney also called on the federal government to “beef up Canada Border Services agencies to stop the importation of illegal opioids including fentanyl.”
Comments