![]() ![]() Seizing on public consciousness of the issue, the parties have put forward policy proposals they say will reverse the trend. "I don't think the problem that we have is of a magnitude that justifies a lot of the knee-jerk responses that we end up getting." What can be done? ![]() "Fear not only of gun crime itself but of the other - because of who the gun problem is stereotypically connected with." "It has a dimension that invites fear," he said. Only 10 per cent favoured looser regulations, while 19 per cent favoured the status quo.Ĭhristian Pearce, a criminal defence lawyer based in Toronto who is also author of Enter the Babylon System, a book about gun culture, says that while gun violence is a serious issue, he thinks public concern about it is overblown. Public concerned about gun violenceĪs gun violence increases, the public is making its concern known.Īccording to public opinion research on firearms by Public Safety Canada, 47 per cent of Canadians feel that gun violence is a threat to their community.Īn Ipsos poll in 2020 reported that an overwhelming majority (82 per cent) of those surveyed supported Bill C-21, the legislation aimed at banning a range of "assault-style" weapons.Ī Leger and Association for Canadian Studies survey in 2021 reported that about two thirds (66 per cent) of respondents favoured stricter gun control in Canada. Suicide has a well-documented positive relationship with gun ownership. After peaking in 2015 at 4,405 suicides, there were 3,540 in Canada in 2020, according to Statistics Canada. Suicide, another aspect of gun violence that's fatal, is much more common than homicide in Canada - but it has not shown a sustained increase over the past 20 years. "That's not taking into account non-fatal shootings, which are the overwhelming majority of shootings." "Homicide is really like the tip of the iceberg when it comes to violent crime," he said. Lee said that while guns can be deadly, they're often not. Jooyoung Lee, an associate professor of sociology at University of Toronto, says it's a mistake to focus on homicide when thinking about gun violence as an issue. In 2020, 37.2 per cent of homicides involved a gun, compared with 40 per cent in 2017. Though the absolute number of homicides by firearm reached its highest level of the past five years in 2020 at 277, the proportion of homicides by firearm actually decreased. "There is somewhat of an increase, nationally speaking, especially over the last three or four years," he said.īut the rate of homicides with firearms has broadly held steady in recent years, according to StatsCan data. Jooyoung Lee, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto who studies gun violence, says Canada has seen an uptick in homicides. "The number of violent offences specific to firearms increased by 593 incidents in 2020, resulting in a 15 per cent rate increase." "This rate was unchanged compared to 2019 … Since reaching its lowest point in recent years in 2013, firearm-related violent crime has generally been increasing, with the exception of a decline between 20," the report reads. Last year, there were 8,344 victims of violent crimes which involved guns, according to a report from Greg Moreau of the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics. This includes not just discharging a firearm, but also pointing it - for example, as part of a bank robbery.Īnd the COVID-19 pandemic did not do much of anything to reverse the trend. 2019 saw a nine per cent increase over the previous year. An upward trajectoryĬriminal gun violence has risen in Canada - and by a fairly significant margin, according to Statistics Canada.įrom 2009 to 2019 criminal use of firearms increased 81 per cent, the agency reported. Is gun violence rising in Canada and, if so, what do we know about it? CBC News looked into it with a fact check. In a news conference Saturday, Conservative leader Erin O'Toole said violent shootings have increased since Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister. O'Toole amends platform on gun control, but questions remain about what change means.O'Toole reverses course on guns, will maintain Liberal ban during review of classifications.Quebec mayors call on federal parties to commit to ban on assault rifles, handguns as election looms. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |