Police Services Board Chair Has Received Over 130 Calls From Concerned Residents Over The Shooting Death Of Rodger Kotanko
Dec 16, 2021
Norfolk’s Police Services Board taking a moment at the end of their meeting yesterday to acknowledge the passing of Rodger Kotanko.
On November 3rd, the 70-year-old Norfolk resident was shot and killed as the Toronto Police executed a search warrant in the Port Dover area.
Acting Chair George Santos commented on the passing, noting that they opinion as a board has been sought after but with an SIU investigation – their hands are tied.
[NOTE: Rodger Kotanko didn’t “pass.” He was killed by police. There is a difference.]
‘Words are not enough’: Public safety minister defends assault rifle buyback plan at committee
Dec 16, 2021
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has defended his government’s plan to buy back assault rifles even while removing some mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes.
Mendicino took criticism from Conservative MP Raquel Dancho over the government’s crime legislation C-5, a bill which among other things removes mandatory minimum prison sentences on a variety of crimes including ones involving firearms.
“We’re quite concerned that on one hand, we’re seeing criminals using often illegally smuggled guns to harm our communities and on the other hand, your government is taking away the ability to ensure they have mandatory prison time,” Dancho said.
“If you would invest $1 billion to $3 billion at our borders, I think we would see a lot less illegal guns from the United States smuggled in by gangs, used in drug trafficking and used to kill innocent Canadians,” Dancho said.
She said illegal gun owners are not going to turn their weapons over during a buy-back program.
“Criminals will not be handing their guns back to you and they are the ones that are hurting people in our cities,” she said.
Excerpts From Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s Mandate Letter
https://pm.gc.ca/en/mandate-letters/2021/12/16/minister-public-safety-mandate-letter
December 16, 2021
As Minister of Public Safety, you will prioritize efforts to keep cities and communities safe, notably by investing in crime prevention programming and implementing our firearms commitments.
Continue to work to keep our cities and communities safe from gun violence by:
- Continuing implementation of C-71 regulations for firearms licence verification and business record-keeping;
- Making it mandatory for owners to sell banned assault weapons back to the government for destruction or have them rendered inoperable at the government’s expense;
- Requiring the permanent alteration of long-gun magazines so that they can never hold more than five rounds;
- Banning the sale or transfer of magazines capable of holding more than the legal number of bullets;
- Providing financial support to provinces and territories that implement a ban on handguns across their jurisdiction;
- Implementing the gang prevention and intervention program to provide direct funding to municipalities and Indigenous communities; and
- Working with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to introduce “Red flag” laws to allow the immediate removal of firearms if that person is a threat to themselves or others, particularly to their spouse or partner, and increasing maximum penalties for firearms trafficking and smuggling.