↑ Grab this Headline Animator

U.S. Ambassador Says Canadians Are Smuggling In U.S. Handguns

Ontario should be looking closer at its own security when it complains about illegal weapons being smuggled from the United States, the new American ambassador said Thursday.



"That is a shared responsibility," David Wilkins said after a private meeting with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. "I've heard more than one Canadian official say it's mostly Canadians bringing the guns across. Not hundreds of thousands at a time, but three or four at a time."



In recent weeks, Toronto has been rocked by gang-related gunfights that have left innocent bystanders injured in the crossfire, including a four-year-old boy.



Police have said at least half of the firearms in Canada's largest city are being smuggled across the border from the United States. It's estimated that only a tiny fraction of illegal firearms are stopped at the border.



Wilkins said it's important for law enforcement officials on both sides of the border to work on the issue and pledged his support.



McGuinty, who has repeatedly decried the use of "American guns on Canadian streets," tried to put a positive spin on the meeting.



"For us to engage in a short-sighted blame game will not do justice to the issue," said McGuinty, noting that Washington now knows Ontario's concerns.



"We both agree it's really important to get the federal government involved in this. It's going to call for more effort at the border."



McGuinty said the U.S. congress is not likely to ban handguns, nor is it likely that each and every car coming across the border into Ontario will be checked.



"We have to find a way to share more intelligence, to beef up resources at the border to ensure we are being more pro-active and more effective when it comes to capturing smuggled guns," he said.



"What I can do on my watch as premier on Ontario is ensure that we accelerate our program to put more police on the streets so they'll be there to provide safety and assistance to communities affected."



McGuinty said Ontario Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter will provide an update Friday on the government's long-standing promise to hire 1,000 more police officers.



source: http://waterandwoods.net/news.phpextend.1049

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

---

This article has been robotically scanned and tagged by Prnewsnow with the following search tags. No human manipulation of these tags take place.
| Schedule | Schedule Pro | |

---

4933 readers online...

, Local News