The following are comments by Canada’s Ministry of Public Safety about the government’s priorities for firearm policies.

The comments are in response to a request by TheGunBlog.ca for (1) an interview about the government’s priorities and approach on firearm regulation and legislation, and (2) data on the country’s firearm owners, licenses and guns.

The initial request was a phone message for the director of the ministry’s Firearms & Operational Policing Policy Directorate, followed by a phone conversation and e-mails with the ministry’s media-relations department on July 15. The response was received today and is published verbatim. The links were added by TheGunBlog.ca.

To: TheGunBlog.ca
From: Media Relations, Public Safety Canada
Date: 22 July 2016
Subject: Re: Requesting chat on firearms policy, data

We respectfully decline your request for an interview. The ‎Government of Canada’s intent is to reduce gun and gang violence through effective gun control that keeps Canadians safe. The Government is approaching firearms-related policies with a commitment to evidence-based policy making. Further, the Government intends to work collaboratively with law-abiding firearms owners and stakeholders as it takes reasonable and effective actions to achieve its goal of preventing gun violence. The Government believes in balanced, effective gun control that prioritizes public safety.

To address your broader questions, the RCMP webpage on the Canadian Firearms Program provides a lot of valuable information on Canadian gun laws, as well as a variety of statistical data on firearms. It would be suggested that you start with the Frequently Asked Questions and the Facts and figures sections.

Regarding the Government’s intentions for firearms-related policies, priorities have been identified in both the platform and the mandate letters to each Minister, which have been made public. The Government will also be consulting the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee on firearms-policy and related issues.