Minister calls gun buyback ‘important’ after questioning it in leaked call
Global News
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in the House of Commons that it was a 'good thing' his comments were caught on leaked audio obtained by Global News.
Canada’s public safety minister on Monday defended the government’s plans to revive a buyback program for banned firearms, one day after he was caught on tape appearing to question its effectiveness.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said during question period in the House of Commons that it was a “good thing” his comments were caught on leaked audio obtained by Global News, in which he acknowledged police may not be able to enforce the program that he suggested was only moving forward due to political pressure.
“My comments were misguided,” Anandasangaree said. “Having said that, Mr. Speaker, it’s important to have the program in place. It’s what Canadians are looking for.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre hammered the minister over his comments, saying Anandasangaree “accidentally told the truth” that the buyback program “is not worth the money,” and that “they’re going ahead with the bad policy because it’s good politics.”
“Mr. Speaker, it’s a good thing there’s a recording of it so that Canadians can have a look for themselves,” Anandasangaree responded, adding later that it’s important to have a “real conversation about guns” and the need to prevent future mass shootings.
“That minister did have a real conversation about guns. Unfortunately for him, he was caught on tape,” Poilievre shot back.
The comments came after Global News obtained leaked audio of a lengthy conversation about the impending gun buyback program between Anandasangaree and a tenant of a Toronto residential property owned by the minister.
Anandasangaree said Monday the conversation, which took place Sunday, was recorded without his knowledge.
The agency says more than 22,000 people have been removed from the country in the last 12 months, and nearly 30,000 removals were "in progress" as of Oct. 31.
A problem with the signalling system caused a service interruption this morning on Montreal's light-rail network.
An Ontario lawyer accused by American authorities of advising a Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged-cocaine kingpin has had his licence to practice law suspended.
The FIFA draw ceremony will mark the first time Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will be in the same room.
A new report finds anglophones face higher unemployment and lower wages in Quebec; gaps that researchers say carry major economic consequences.
Critics are questioning the solidity of Saab's pitch to deliver 10,000 jobs in Canada if it decides to set up shop here to assemble Gripen fighter jets.
The girl’s disappearance underscores long-standing concerns about the ease with which a parent can take a child to another country without the other parent’s knowledge or consent.
Asbestos cleanup, tight work windows and other TTC delays have slowed the build out of 5G cellular service in Toronto's subway system.
Alberta's UCP government is changing the rules to make it easier for citizens to force a referendum on issues such as the prospect of the province leaving Confederation.
An at-home DNA test given as a birthday gift solved an 80-year family mystery by revealing that a man in Quebec and a man in the Netherlands were long-lost brothers.
Lina Vargas was on the board for almost two years and told Global News that accountability and transparency are fundamental rights for all community members.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly told the House of Commons committee on international trade the move breaches federal contracts tied to manufacturing in Brampton and Windsor, Ont.
A targeted home invasion and kidnapping led to a gunpoint standoff with police and an overnight chase across Toronto. Two suspects remain at large, investigators say.