Canadians are doubtful that cabinet’s national freeze on handgun imports and new sales will actually reduce crime in the country if handguns used in committing crimes are illegally smuggled into Canada, federal research finds.
In-house research by the Privy Council Office (PCO) last fall asked survey respondents about their general views on handguns in Canadian society and whether they believed the federal ban on these firearms would bring down crime.
“While almost all participants supported the overarching goal of reducing the prevalence of crimes involving handguns and decreasing the overall number of handguns in circulation, a number were skeptical as to whether a national freeze on the buying and selling of handguns would be effective,” said the Oct. 7 PCO research report titled “Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views” obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter….