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Criminal Guns and Gangs Summit coming to Ottawa this March

According to the Globe and Mail, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has “convened a summit on gun violence in Canada to find the best way to deal with the growing problems linked to criminal gangs and the illegal drug trade.”

March 2, 2018  By Staff


The online article says the event, the Criminal Guns and Gangs Summit, is scheduled for March 7, 2018, in Ottawa. Public Safety has yet to release a list of people and organizations attending the summit.

“The Criminal Guns and Gangs Summit will be an unprecedented national summit on challenges, solutions and best practices in the fight against gun crime and in combating the deadly effects of gangs and illegal guns in communities across Canada,” Public Safety Canada stated in a news release last November. “The government hopes to hear from key stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, community and mental health organizations, Indigenous groups, government and non-governmental organizations.”

According to the federal government, there were 2,465 criminal firearms violations in 2016, up 30 per cent since 2013. Meanwhile, from 2012 to 2016, offences that are frequently linked to organized crime have also gone up significantly, such as human trafficking (more than 300 per cent) and extortion (74 per cent), Public Safety Canada said.

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