Readers Respond to Montreal Shooting and Other Issues
Within hours of the tragic June 22 shootings in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada was calling for stricter gun laws. Canadians have heard this before.
After the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, Canada strengthened its firearms laws. After the subsequent shootings at Concordia University and Dawson College, we heard renewed calls for more restrictions. Yet decades later, despite some of the strictest firearms laws in the democratic world, a Montreal police officer is dead, having made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting the public, and an innocent bystander has lost his life.
Law-Abiding Gun Owners vs. Criminals
Law-abiding firearms owners are licensed, vetted, trained, screened, regulated and monitored. Every new restriction is followed by people who obey the law. Criminals do not obey the law. That is the flaw in the mayor’s argument.
The gang member carrying an illegal firearm does not care about another regulation. The violent extremist does not care about another prohibition. The individual prepared to murder innocent people or kill a police officer is not concerned with complying with firearms legislation. Every new restriction falls on those who follow the law, not those who break it.
Before demanding more legislation, perhaps we should ask a simple question: Would another restriction on a licensed firearms owner have prevented the Montreal tragedy? If the answer is no, then our efforts should be focused on illegal firearms trafficking, organized crime, violent extremism, and giving police the tools they need to protect our communities.
The best way to honour the fallen officer and the innocent victim is not to repeat the same political response after every tragedy. It is to focus on the people responsible for the violence and support the officers who put themselves in harm’s way to keep the rest of us safe.
Antisemitism and Rising Intolerance
In another letter, a 74-year-old immigrant and proud Canadian citizen who has maintained strong ties to Greece expressed growing concern about the rise of hatred and intolerance, particularly toward Jewish people. This concern became especially strong during a recent one-month visit to Greece.
When he returned to Canada, he considered writing a letter but hesitated. Then he read a news article describing parents attending a year-end event at a Greek elementary school, expecting to celebrate their children’s achievements, only to be confronted and led by the teachers in political demonstrations, Palestinian flags, and anti-Jewish slogans.
According to the letter writer, antisemitism 'should concern every Canadian.' He urges readers to recognize that hatred against any group undermines the fabric of Canadian society.
