Government taking action on gun crime in Halifax with up to $3.3 million for prevention programs

HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY, NS, March 2, 2023 /CNW/ - People in Halifax and communities across Canada deserve to feel safe in their communities.

That's why the Government of Canada is taking action with a comprehensive plan that gets guns off our streets and puts more resources into our communities. An important element of this work is stopping violence before it starts, which is why the government launched the $250 million Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF). First announced in March 2022, the BSCF supports local initiatives that prevent gun and gang violence and help young people make good choices.

Today the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety, announced that the Halifax Regional Municipality will receive up to $3.3 million from the BSCF to prevent gun crime and gang violence in the region. This funding will help address the underlying conditions that give rise to crime. The municipality will distribute it to community-led projects for young people involved in gangs or at risk of joining them ? helping them set themselves up for success in life.

No single program or initiative can tackle the challenge of gun crime on its own. The BSCF is one of many elements in the Government's plan to keep Canadians safe.

Our work begins at Canada's borders, where we've added resources to fight smuggling and stop guns from coming into the country. The Government banned assault-style firearms like the AR-15 two years ago and will soon begin a buyback program to get these guns out of our communities. Last October, a national freeze on handguns was implemented . Finally, we recently introduced Bill C-21 ? Canada's most significant action on gun violence in a generation. In addition to the handgun freeze, it proposes significant provisions to combat organized crime and address the alarming role of guns in domestic violence.         

"My number one priority as Minister of Public Safety is keeping Canadians safe. Investments in grassroots efforts in Halifax are essential to addressing the social conditions that lead youth and young adults to get involved in a life of crime. Put simply, we must stop gun and gang violence before it starts."

- The Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety

"We need to continue doing everything we can to help build more inclusive and safer communities. That means working with all orders of government, proactively, to support grassroots organizations that know how to make the biggest positive impact in Dartmouth?Cole Harbour and across the municipality."

- Darren Fisher, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors and Member of Parliament for Dartmouth?Cole Harbour

"This welcomed funding will allow Halifax Regional Municipality to further invest in a renewed community-led public safety strategy that uses a collective impact approach to better support youth and address root causes of crime and violence."

- Mike Savage, Mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality

• Public Safety Canada is finalizing agreements with municipalities and communities that have been identified through evidence-based criteria and meet the program requirements.
• The amount of BSCF support for a community is based on two major elements: crime severity (homicide by firearm, incidents of firearms offences, organized crime/street gang-involved crime) and population density.
• The BSCF builds on the success of the Initiative To Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence. This includes the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund - a five year $358.8 million investment announced in 2018 - that brings together federal, provincial and territorial supports to tackle the increase in gun-related violence and gang activity in Canada.

• Further strengthening our gun control laws
• Freezing the market on handguns
• Government takes action to prevent gun violence with $250 million Building Safer Communities Fund
• Government of Canada delivers on plan to build safer communities and reduce firearms violence

• A comprehensive strategy to address gun violence and strengthen gun laws in Canada: Bill C-21, An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms)
• Gun and Gang Violence
• Firearms
• Homicide in Canada, 2021
• New investments to help end gun and gang violence in Canada
• Youth Gang Prevention Fund

SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada