Tougher gun measures on election agenda in wake of Toronto shootings
(The Star Fashion & Style)

OTTAWA—A prime minister making an election vow to take tough action on firearms in the wake of gun violence in Canada’s biggest city.That was the scene in late 2005 when Paul Martin made a campaign stop in Rexdale to pledge that a Liberal government would severely restrict handgun ownership and beef up efforts to control the illegal flow of weapons.That is shaping up to be the scene again as gun control appears poised be an issue in the coming fall election with possible Liberal proposals to crack down on assault-style weapons, perhaps even handguns, which are already tightly restricted.“Handguns kill people,” Martin said in 2005. “That’s why they exist. …And they are taking too many Canadian lives.”Martin unveiled a five-point strategy that included funding for additional border and police personnel to stem the flow of smuggled weapons, tougher penalties on violent gun crime and a Criminal Code amendment to ban handguns. But he lost that election and never got the chance to act on those promises.Sadly, Toronto’s gun violence is again fodder for election politics. Advocates are hoping that the “divisive” debate to come doesn’t get in the way, once again, of the controls they’ve long fought for.With renewed concerns about gun violence, federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said this week that the Liberals were close to releasing a “very strong and effective package” and that could include further restrictions on assault-style weapons. The Liberal government has been studying the issue for the last year and is promising to unveil its proposed changes in the coming weeks, coming either before the federal election campaign or once it gets underway, sometime after Labour Day.“Canadians will have an opportunity to listen to the competing views of all the political parties but they’ll see a very strong presentation from the government and Canadians will be able ...