Party leaders speak out on Toronto shootings

Last Updated: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 | 7:37 PM ET

CBC News

Prime Minister Paul Martin, who has made the issue of gun violence part of his campaign platform, said the Boxing Day shootings in downtown Toronto are the "consequences of exclusion" of young people.

Martin said the shootings, which left a 15-year-old girl dead and six others injured, are a "painful reminder" that Canadians cannot take their "peace or understanding for granted."

• RELATED STORY: 'Toronto has lost its innocence,' police say of Boxing Day shooting

Paul Martin watches Rabbi Simcha Zirkind light the candles on a menorah while visiting a rabbinic college in Montreal, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2005. (CP photo)

"I think more than anything else they demonstrate what in fact are the consequences of exclusion," Martin said at a menorah-lighting ceremony in celebration of Hanukkah in Montreal.

He said when he last visited Toronto – shortly after a fatal shooting at a funeral for another gunfire victim – he met with young people who talked about the void in their lives and the hopelessness it can bring.

Earlier Tuesday, Martin said he was "horrified" by the latest shootings in Toronto, which, he said, has too often been the scene of senseless gun violence. The slaying was the 52nd gun-related deaths this year in the city, out of 78 slayings.

Stephen Harper smiles during a Menorah lighting ceremony at the home of Rabbi Menachem Matusof in Calgary, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2005. (CP photo)

"What we saw yesterday [Monday] is a stark reminder of the challenge that governments, police forces and communities face to ensure that Canadian cities do not descend into the kind of rampant gun violence we have seen elsewhere," he said in a statement.

Martin said earlier this month that his government, if re-elected in the Jan. 23 federal election, would immediately introduce a handgun ban.

It would offer narrowly defined exemptions for target shooters and give collectors time to sell or dispose of their weapons.

• FROM DEC. 8, 2005: Liberals vow to ban handguns

The Liberals have also promised to double jail sentences for gun-related crimes, stem the trade of illegal guns with a 75-officer team to beef up border security, and increase police numbers, including a special RCMP task force to deal with guns and gangs.

Enforce current gun laws instead of making new ones, Harper urges

But Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said Martin's call for a ban on handguns is not the answer, arguing that the government should be enforcing laws already on the books.

"We've basically banned handguns in this country," Harper said.

"The problem is this is the first government in our history that seems unable to enforce our gun laws, and I think obviously this is just the consequence of 12 years of lax criminal justice in law enforcement."

In a statement Tuesday, Harper said the Conservatives would also battle gun violence by boosting support for front-line policing, introducing mandatory prison sentences for gun-related offences, tightening border controls to stem the flow of illegal weapons and supporting community programs for at-risk youth.

Layton calls for tougher border controls and sentencing

NDP Leader Jack Layton condemned the "senseless shootings" and the "reckless criminals who perpetrated them."

But Layton also took a jab at Martin's handgun-ban policy.

"Since it would appear that these crimes were committed with handguns, it is almost certainly true that all of the weapons involved are already illegal – already banned," Layton said.

"So it is important for Canadians not to be diverted by election rhetoric."

Layton said the government must focus on getting illegal handguns off the streets by bringing in tougher border controls, tougher sentencing for weapons offences, and tougher anti-gang policing, prosecutions and sentencing.