Quebec Strategy to Combat Gun-Related Violence

Areas of intervention

Faced with recurring and sustained events of firearm violence, particularly in mainland France, the Ministry of Public Security wishes to act in a coherent and concerted manner, with its police partners, by proposing a national strategy to combat violence linked to to firearms. As part of this strategy, the Ministry of Public Security launches Operation CENTAUR (Coordination of National Efforts on Arms Trafficking, United in Repression and Investigations).

With additional investments totaling nearly $88.9 million over the next five years, the Ministère de la Sécurité publique and its partners in the police world wish to tackle the problem of firearm-related violence in three main areas: repression, either:

1. Local intervention on the possession of illegal firearms
2. Adding gun violence to police priorities in the fight against organized crime
3. The weakening of the gun supply

Goals

Strengthen the ability of police forces to act

In order to increase the pressure and destabilize criminal networks throughout Quebec, 78 new resources have been added to the various local, regional and national squads that are in place to fight organized crime throughout Quebec. This addition will allow:

• To act quickly with people who are at risk of using armed violence and following events related to firearms;
• To fight against the supply and trafficking of firearms;
• To maintain the pressure and destabilize the entire organized criminal structure;
• Ensure the involvement of police forces throughout Quebec;
• To maximize intelligence at the provincial level and thus create investigative opportunities to tackle local and specific problems.

With its mixed squads, Quebec already has a consultation structure unique in Canada to fight against organized crime. This enhancement will make it possible to improve the structure at all levels in order to fight against the problem of firearms as a whole and at the provincial level, but more particularly in the territory of Montreal.

Through the deployment of the Quebec Strategy to Combat Firearm-Related Violence, the government also plans to support the police services of Laval (SPL) and Longueuil (SPAL) in order to strengthen their respective organized crime squads and their intelligence support, by adding resources. This additional funding will respectively allow the addition of five police officers in Laval and four in Longueuil to intervene quickly and targeted with people at risk of committing violent acts with a firearm.

Additional funding is also granted to the SPVM to enable it to acquire new equipment and provide more training to teams specialized in armed violence.

An annual envelope is also provided to support police forces in smaller municipalities as well as Aboriginal police forces in carrying out ad hoc investigation projects involving firearms.

Disrupting the Illegal Gun Supply

To identify and destabilize illegal firearms supply networks, the Ministry of Public Security created the Integrated Combat Arms Trafficking Team (EILTA). In operation since August 2021, EILTA is mandated to conduct investigations aimed at establishing the origin and route of seized firearms. This coordination of investigative efforts ensures greater fluidity in the sharing of criminal intelligence between the various police forces and a distribution of efforts across all investigative angles.

Support knowledge development

A better understanding of the phenomena associated with armed violence is essential to intervene on their components. This is why the Québec Strategy encompasses a series of initiatives that have already been implemented and whose objective is to develop scientific knowledge and criminal intelligence.

At the same time, by adding 15 new resources and acquiring additional equipment, the capacity building of the Laboratory of Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine will make it possible to respond to the increase in demand for ballistic analyzes and, thus, to provide the necessary support to investigators to identify recovered firearms.

Prevent crime

In addition to deploying several new means to support police forces, the Ministère de la Sécurité publique continues to implement crime prevention initiatives with:

• the Delinquency Prevention Through Sports, Arts and Culture Program, funded by the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund, which supports the initiatives of 21 community organizations offering activities to young people such as alternative solution to delinquency and joining street gangs, while promoting their social development;
• initiatives in collaboration with a number of crime prevention partners in the Montréal area.
   

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