Municipal approach to gun control a 'patchwork', says WRPS Chief

Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin says he's concerned about the practicality of new federallegislation that would give municipalities the local power to restrict guns.

The legislation, introduced earlier this week, wouldallow municipalities to pass their own bylaws around the transportation and storage of handguns. For example, municipalities could pass bylaws banning people from keeping these guns in their homes.

"I think that it creates a number of enforcement issues around bylaws," said Larkin, speaking at a virtual police services board meeting Wednesday.

"We are in a multi-tiered community, and so how do we manage that? Who has the responsibility?"

Larkin also criticized the federal government for giving this responsibility to local municipalities, without boosting funding for enforcement,

"I view it as a patchwork and I would've much preferred a national approach from my perspective," he said.

Aim is to give local governments more options: public safety minister

In an interview with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo'sThe Morning Edition,Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said municipalities are under no obligation to enact these bylaws.

But, he said, the federal government has heard from many local governments who want to do more to control gang violence. The idea with the new legislation is to give them that power.

"It is a vast country, [and] for those jurisdictions where the provincial government and the municipal government wants to work with us to do more, we're prepared to work with them," Blair told host Craig Norris.

Blair also said the government has provided funding to provinces to fight guns and gangs, pointing to a $65 million funding package announced in 2019.

On Wednesday, Larkin said other parts of the legislation are a step in the right direction, such as stronger penalties for those who traffic guns illegally. He also supports the announcement of $250 million in federal funding to prevent at-risk young people from joining gangs, though he questioned how much of that funding will go to Waterloo region.