Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, has released a wide-ranging mandate letter asking Canada’s Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, Bill Blair, to “[L]ead an examination of a full ban on handguns and assault weapons in Canada, while not impeding the lawful use of firearms by Canadians.”
This work would be in support of Canada’s upcoming Firearms bill, Bill C-71, and is supported by the city councils of two of Canada’s largest cities: Toronto and Montreal, who have recently both passed resolutions asking for an outright ban on handguns.
As Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, your goals are to ensure that our borders remain secure and to lead cross-government efforts to reduce organized crime. You will work to ensure Canada’s borders are managed to promote legitimate travel and trade while keeping Canadians safe and treating everyone fairly, in accordance with our laws. You will also play a leading role in our efforts to reduce gun violence. You will lead the legalization and strict regulation of cannabis, and are the Minister responsible for our strategy to manage the challenge of irregular migration.
Image: Kencf0618 [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
