“Simply banning guns we don’t think would be effective,” Harper said.
Date: Nov 24, 2006 7:03 AM
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.11.24
EDITION: MET
SECTION: GTA
PAGE: E01
BYLINE: Jim Byers
SOURCE: Toronto Star
WORD COUNT: 788
ILLUSTRATION: Mayor David Miller, flanked byPrime Minister Stephen
Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty, addresses a press conference
yesterday. Rene Johnston toronto star

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Leaders gather in rare accord

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Partway through a rare press conference attended by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper, Premier Dalton McGuinty and Mayor David Miller, Harper
said Criminal Code changes designed to crack down on gun violence aren’t
going to solve Canada’s crime problems but they’re a solid start. The
same might be said for the fact that the three men simply stood together
and kept their rhetorical weapons in their holsters.

The three leaders have been wrapped in a nasty fight during the past few
weeks over everything from fiscal imbalances to failed World’s Fair
bids. But Toronto politicians say the fact they were able to put aside
their differences for a major anti-crime move that Miller and McGuinty
had been pushing for is a positive sign.

“It’s good to have the Prime Minister say ‘Yes’ to Toronto,”
Miller
said. “It’s a start, and it’s a good start.”

“I’m very pleased that all three levels of government were able to agree
on this,” said Toronto Councillor Karen Stintz (Ward 16,
Eglinton-Lawrence), one of several right-wing council members invited to
yesterday’s press conference by the federal Tory government. “It’s
good
to see some agreement, and now we need to see similar co-operation on
transportation and other issues” important to the city.

“Between the three of us we pretty much cover the political spectrum,”
Harper said with a smile. “But today we are partisans for the same
cause; reclaiming safe streets and safe communities for all Canadians.”

Miller said it was the first time he could remember sharing a stage with
McGuinty and Harper. The three men talked about a variety of subjects
prior to the press conference but Miller said it wasn’t the time to
bring up outstanding grievances. All three leaders took turns
complimenting one another during the briefing and collectively urged all
federal parties to back the new legislation.

Bill C-10, the legislation introduced in Ottawa yesterday, provides
what’s called a “reverse onus” in bail hearings for offences that
involve firearms.

“This bail reform package will apply to people when they stand accused
of serious crimes involving firearms,” said Harper. “As the law stands,
anyone accused of … heinous acts is granted bail and allowed to roam
the streets unless a prosecutor can persuade a judge to hold them in
jail. This is unacceptable. Our legislation will reverse the onus, so
that people charged with serious gun crimes will have to demonstrate to
the courts why they should not stay in custody until their trial.”

Harper said there have been nearly 1,000 crimes involving firearms or
restricted weapons this year in Toronto and that almost 40 per cent were
allegedly committed by someone on bail, parole, temporary absence or
probation. Toronto police told the Star that 70 per cent of people
charged in a homicide this year were under a court order at the time of
the slaying and that 29 of this year’s homicide victims were allegedly
killed by someone already on bail, probation or under a court order not
to possess firearms at the time of the slaying.

McGuinty called the new measures “tough and responsible” and said the
message is clear – “when you pick up a gun and commit a crime, you lose
your right to be free.”

Miller said he hopes the legislation will encourage witnesses to gun
crimes to talk to police and be comfortable knowing that criminals will
remain behind bars and not out on bail.

“As we have seen in Toronto over the past 48 hours, we have to be
relentless in our efforts against guns,” Miller said, referring to a
pair of shooting incidents in the city.

“Guns serve one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to kill,” said
the mayor, who was re-elected in a landslide last week. “They give
cowardly criminals the capacity to become killers with minimal thought
and far too much ease, and far too often those killed or injured weren’t
even the target, like Chantel Dunn, Jane Creba and Louise Russo.”

Despite the kissy-kissy behaviour, there were some obvious differences
on display at yesterday’s briefing.

Both Miller and McGuinty sounded another call for a ban on handguns,
something the Prime Minister rejected. “Simply banning guns we don’t
think would be effective,” Harper said. “What we do need to do is stop
the smuggling of illegal weapons.”

Near the end of the press conference, Harper – no doubt conscious of the
need to shore up support in Ontario and Quebec before the impending
election – also made a point of saying that changes are needed to
Canada’s criminal justice system to end “decades of neglect,” a clear
shot at the long-reigning Liberals.

Still, yesterday was mostly a time to dial down the rhetoric and
demonstrate a rare degree of co-operation among leaders of Canada, its
largest province and its biggest city.

Now all they have to do is make it last.

with files from Tracy Huffman and canadian press

The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !