SURREY — The federal government will spend $327.6 million over five years – and $100 million every year after that – to reduce gun violence and gang activity.
Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Joyce Murray, MP for Vancouver Quadra, made the funding announcement this morning in Surrey at the B.C. RCMP (E Division) headquarters building on Green Timbers Way.An interactive timeline of shootings in Surrey dating back to 2014
“Too many young people have been killed and too many communities have been marred by gun crime and gun violence,” Goodale said in a release. “It doesn’t have to be this way. By working together, we can make our communities safer through greater enforcement, collaboration and prevention. The federal government is making major new investments to tackle this scourge and will bring all levels of government and our partners together to confront this problem at the Summit on Criminal Guns and Gangs.”
So far this year, there have been at least 45 shots-fired incidents in Surrey, most of them connected to the drug trade.
The Government of Canada will also bring together experts, practitioners, front-line personnel, and decision makers for a Summit on Criminal Guns and Gangs in March 2018.
The national summit will focus on the challenges, solutions and best practices in the fight against gun crime and in combating the deadly effects of gangs and illegal guns in communities across Canada.
The government says it hopes to hear from key stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, community and mental health organizations, Indigenous groups, government and non-governmental organizations.
To government also announced it will provide $10 million in urgent support to the Province of British Columbia to help address the opioid crisis.
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