People in Fredericton and across Canada deserve to feel safe in their communities.
That's why the Government of Canada is taking action on gun and gang violence with a comprehensive plan that gets guns off our streets and puts more resources into our communities. An important element of this plan 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 Minister of Public Safety, the Honourable Marco Mendicino, announced that the City of Fredericton will receive up to $945,000 from the BSCF to prevent gun and gang violence across the city. This funding will help address the underlying social conditions that give rise to crime. The BSCF will support community-led projects to combat violence among young people who are involved in gangs, or at risk of joining them.
No single program or initiative can tackle the challenge of gun violence on its own. That is why the BSCF is one of many elements in the government's comprehensive plan to keep Canadians safe from gun crime. This begins at our borders, where we've added resources to fight smuggling and stop guns from coming into Canada. The government banned assault-style firearms like the AR-15 two years ago and will soon begin a buyback program to get these weapons of war off of our streets. Finally, the government recently introduced Bill C-21 - Canada's most significant action on gun violence in a generation - which proposes a national freeze on handguns and new "red flag" laws to address the role of guns in domestic violence.
