Stop illegal guns: NDP’s Singh commits to rehire 1,100-plus border officers

TORONTO—To tackle the river of illegal guns entering Canada, the NDP will rehire every border officer cut by the last Conservative government. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh made that commitment in Toronto Thursday alongside members of the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU).

Gun violence has been at a record high so far in 2024. In Toronto, there have been 338 shootings. Of the nearly 500 guns seized by police in Toronto this year, 85 per cent were illegal guns smuggled into Canada. CIU National President Mark Weber says that for years, the union has been calling on the federal government to hire more border officers to help stop the flow of illegal firearms into Canada—especially after the last Conservative government cut 1,100 of them in one day.

“The Canada I believe in is a place where people can enjoy their city—from crowded festivals to grassy parks—without worrying that anyone near them has an illegal handgun in their pocket or glove compartment,” said Singh. “Gun violence leaves a wake of people traumatized and forever changed, and every person who loses their life through gun violence is a person who had promise, dreams and goals.

“The men and women of the CIU can stop guns from entering this country. But because of Conservative cuts, ports of entry are chronically understaffed. The NDP will fight for 1,100 new border officers to be urgently hired and trained to replace the jobs Conservatives cut. If the Liberals continue to let people down, an NDP government will rehire those 1,100 border officers immediately and keep hiring and keep training—so we can catch more guns at the border and travelling by rail, rather than after they’ve been used in a crime.”

“I’ll be honest, the reality at CBSA is bleak: Staffing wise, past Conservative cuts have left ports of entry severely understaffed,” said Weber. “We would need almost 3000 additional officers from coast to coast to coast to meet operational requirements. Current training facilities can only train up to 600 officers a year, which does not even cover attrition.

“Many of our members face exhaustion due to sustained understaffing. Things desperately need to change at CBSA if we want to get serious about stopping illegal firearms: more frontline border personnel, expanded abilities for our border officers to patrol between ports of entry, improved training facilities, reliable tools that don’t break down, and even benefits in line with other law enforcement agencies to help with the workforce renewal.”

Singh said that stemming from gun violence will always have to include action to address the root causes of violence, which include poverty and lack of opportunity.