On Parliament Hill

Conservatives believe that a government’s responsibility to protect its citizens is its most important obligation. That’s why we have put together our “Plan for A Safer Canada”.

The first pillar entitled “Cracking Down on Gangs”, includes new policy measures to combat gang crime and help make our communities safer.

The second pillar, “Gun Laws that Target Criminals”, includes new policy measures to target criminals who don’t follow gun laws.

This week, the leader of the Conservative Party, Andrew Scheer, was in Winnipeg to announce the third and final pillar of our Safer Canada policy”Equipping Police to Protect”.

The men and women of our police forces work incredibly hard to keep us safe. We owe them a debt of gratitude for what they do – but more importantly, we owe them the resources they need to do their jobs.

The new Conservative plan contains the following new policy measures to provide police forces with the resources they need to keep our communities safe.

1. New funding to fight gangs: Gang murders are at the highest point since statistics started being collected. It is important for the federal government to step up and assist other levels of government. A Conservative government led by Andrew Scheer will cost-share new anti-gang law enforcement initiatives with provinces and territories.
2. Create a Police Infrastructure Grant program: There are more than 70 municipal policing agencies in Canada. Often, these forces have much less purchasing power than larger agencies like the RCMP. This is particularly true in rural and suburban areas, as well as some smaller urban centres. These agencies cannot always purchase new equipment to combat gun and gang violence and keep officers and the whole community safe. Our new plan will create a grant for these agencies to buy new equipment.
3. Better information sharing to solve gun crimes: Police agencies in Canada operate under a patchwork of rules and procedures when it comes to tracking information on guns used in crime. This leads to gaps in sharing information and intelligence that could help to solve crimes. The new plan will make sure that information on guns found at crime scenes is given to the right authorities.
4. Stronger background checks for gun licences: A recent audit of firearms licensing shows that there are lengthy delays both in issuing licences to law-abiding gun owners and in investigating risks to the public. A Conservative government led by Andrew Scheer will ensure that the Canadian Firearms Program has what it needs to conduct rigorous and effective background checks.
5. More support to keep young people from joining gangs: Putting gang criminals behind bars is important – but we want to stop young people from joining gangs in the first place. That is why Conservatives created the Youth Gang Prevention Fund in 2006 and made it permanent in 2011. A new Conservative government will increase the funds available for the Youth Gang Prevention Fund by 25% to ensure continued support for counselling, skills development, and other important programs.
6. Making prison time meaningful: Our prison system spends $60 million each and every year on jobs and skills training for prisoners. However, the government does not measure how effective these programs are. That’s why we would conduct an audit of all correctional services programs to make sure inmates are ready to rejoin society upon their release.

With gang violence on the rise, police need more and better resources to rid our streets of gangs. That’s exactly what our plan will accomplish.