Jagmeet Singh calls on Trudeau Government to tackle root causes of gun violence & allow cities to ban handguns

OTTAWA – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday urging the government to commit to a long-term approach of addressing the underlying causes of the gun violence in our cities, while at the same time moving quickly on immediate measures such as enabling municipalities to ban handguns.

“We know the root causes for violence in our communities – they include poverty, racial discrimination, huge gaps in mental health services, lack of adequate and affordable housing and the lack of meaningful, good quality job opportunities for young people,” Singh wrote to Trudeau. “Prime Minister, we must strike a new path, one that engages all communities in a united effort to tackle gun violence at its roots. We must replace simplistic solutions with comprehensive, well-informed strategies built out of partnership with those most affected.”

Singh’s letter said that tackling these issue was the overarching goal, he also proposed some immediate measures which could be acted on in the short-term. They include granting municipalities who wish to do so the ability to ban handguns, boosting funding to Border Services to stem the import of firearms, and fast track spending on youth focused preventative initiatives to $100 million a year by 2019.

“The federal government should not stand in the way of municipal leaders who know their communities best, and want to ban these weapons to keep their residents safe,” wrote Singh. “This is a time to support all efforts, especially the efforts of those in communities like the Danforth, which have responded to the worst of the violence with love, acceptance, and the courage to bring people together. That strength should be exemplified in the Canadian government’s response to gun violence in our communities.”

Full text of the letter can be found here: Singh Letter Gun Violence