The priority is to make our urban and rural Canadian communities safe for all of our citizens - The Federal handgun freeze is in effect now

Canada Today?- We speak and share our overview regarding the news conference by The Prime Minister of Canada,?Justin Trudeau,?in Surrey, British Columbia. Here is a significant federal government announcement - As of Friday, October 21, 2022, the Federal Government's Nationwide Freeze on the sale, purchase and transfer of handguns comes into effect.?

''We have frozen the market for handguns, and our ban on imports that took effect in August remains in place - This is one of the strongest actions we have taken on gun violence in a generation'' - said Justin Trudeau - ''The Federal handgun freeze now is in effect.'' And now is crucial that MPs work together and prioritize the lives and public safety of Canadians.

The Federal Government announcement - We have frozen the market for handguns in this country;

On October 21, 2022, The Prime Minister of Canada,?Justin Trudeau, in Surrey, British Columbia, announced - ''Today the National Freeze handguns are coming into force. From today forward - it is illegal to buy, sell and transfer handguns in Canada.''

The purpose of the announcement is about the efforts and measures the Federal Government of Canada, led by Prime Minister?Justin Trudeau, has been working on for years and implementing today to keep people in communities and across the country safe. No matter where someone lives - in urban or rural areas and places - the priority is to make our communities safe for all Canadians. And for that, political parties must work together and act in the interest of Canadians applying, at work, the 'Responsible' leadership and not look for the political narratives or excuses which might weaken the effect through changes to attached legislation.

Prime Minister started his speech at the news conference by acknowledging the traditional unseated and chaired territories of the Coast Salish Peoples Katsi Quantlin and Semiyamu First Nations;

He expressed a message of congratulation to David EBY on becoming the leader of the BC - New Democratic party. Justin Trudeau took a moment to thank outgoing Premier John Horgan for his leadership and the progress the two leaders made together in partnership work on the priorities of the two governments and delivering concrete results for Canadians - on child care, climate action, and more.

Prime Minister also held a meeting in BC with people and organization that supports and empowers women's success. They discussed the challenge of the high cost of living and the work and measures the Federal Team implements to make the lives of Canadians more affordable - including doubling the GST Tax Credit for six months.

We're here today to talk about what we're doing to keep our communities safe as we see gun violence continue to rise - a 70 percent increase in handguns in Canada since 2010;

''Unfortunately, Surrey and the Lower Mainland are no exception. We have an obligation to take action.''Today, we are joined by families and advocates - people who have been at the forefront of the fight for tougher gun control for years.'' said Prime Minister and introduced to the attendance Eileen Mohan a speaker - who lost her son because of gun violence when he was only 22. Parliamentarians, mothers and fathers have to listen to her message and words and bring a positive change in this country.

''Elected officials' first and foremost priority is public safety and security. Today, the Liberal government has chosen life over death.'' Eileen Mohan thanked Prime Minister? Justin Trudeau ?for his leadership, political will, and courage to make Freeze happen. ''Freeze is not a popular law and is not made some people happy, but leaders are not chosen to make people happy - they are there to lead and act for the future generation,'' - stressed Mohan.

Today our national handgun freeze is coming into force;

The National handgun freeze was first announced alongside Bill C-21 in May this year - it includes the strongest gun control measure in over 40 years. The Federal Government plans to decrease access to firearms, keep guns out of the wrong hands, and solve an increasing issue of gun violence and crimes in Canada. "This is one of the strongest actions we've taken on gun violence in a generation," - underlined? Justin Trudeau .

With the announcement today, the Federal Government of Canada is introducing some of the strictest gun control measures in a generation - the priority is to make safe Canadian homes, streets and communities for all.?"Canadians have the right to feel safe in their homes, in their schools, and in their places of worship," Justin Trudeau stressed. - "With handgun violence increasing across Canada, it is our duty to take urgent action to remove these deadly weapons from our communities. Today, we're keeping more guns out of our communities and keeping our kids safe."

The next speaker at the conference was the public safety minister, Marco Mendicino;

He called the National Freeze on handguns the "most significant action on gun violence in a generation '' and spoke of the issue in numbers: ''We've seen gun crime go up we've seen handgun crime go up 45 to 55 000 new registrations on average for the last decade while at the same time seeing handguns overtake and become the number one type of gun used in homicides.''

''Today, we will work with all parliamentarians to pass Bill C-21 into law as quickly as possible to give law enforcement the tools they need to tackle organized crime; ''

Minister underlined the Liberal Government's commitment to address and act against an increased number of organized crime and gender-based violence: "We made a commitment to Canadians that we would act - and we are. The national freeze will tackle the alarming role of handguns in crime, gender-based violence, and more.'' - "We are using all tools at our disposal to fight gun violence and will not rest until all Canadians feel safe in their communities."

Passing Bill C-21 into law would allow for the automatic removal of gun licences from people committing domestic violence or engaging in criminal harassment, such as stalking - and would also increase the maximum sentences for gun smuggling and trafficking from 10 to 14 years.

And in conclusion -

''Fewer guns mean safer communities. That’s why we’re implementing some of the strongest gun control measures in a generation. We’ve already banned more than 1,500 types of assault-style firearms. And we’ll continue to do whatever it takes to keep guns out of our communities. '' - Justin Trudeau

Listen to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and speakers at the news conference on the national handgun freeze - now in effect in Canada;