On today’s episode RPTV reporter Dawar Naeem presents an excerpt from  a meeting held on February 26, 2021, when Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair and Toronto Centre MP Marci Ien, spoke with Regent Park community members (Paulos Gebreyesus and Jamal Paisley from the Regent Park Community Health Centre and Sureya Ibrahm of Toronto Centre For Community Learning & Development) to hear safety concerns and inform the community about the proposed revisions to the Bill C-21 of the criminal code related to firearms.

Minister Blair spoke about The Government of Canada’s newly tabled legislation surrounding the control on gun violence and has introduced a buy-back for illegal weapons. Bill C-21 would also increase penalties for the smuggling and trafficking of weapons, provides clear restrictions on the use of illegal weapons, and hopes to eradicate the risks associated to legal firearms and the banned assault-style firearms.
 
Among the amendments in Bill C-21 the government proposes to:

* combat intimate partner and gender-based violence, and self-harm by allowing people, such as concerned friends or relatives, to apply to the courts for the immediate removal of an individual's firearms, or to suspend and review an individual's license to own firearms;
* help create safer communities by supporting municipalities that ban handguns through bylaws restricting storage and transportation in their jurisdictions;                                
* give young people the opportunities and resources to avoid criminal behaviour by providing funding in the amount of $250 million over 5 years – starting in 2021-22 -  to municipalities and Indigenous communities to support anti-gang programming and prevention programs for youth-at-risk.

During the meeting community members had an opportunity to share with Minister Blair and MP Marci Ien the community’s perspective as well as their personal experiences on gun violence, its root causes, and what are the most effective ways to stem its continuation.