Left are alleged gun dealers in Toronto while on the right is a picture of kidnappers in Iraq. Chilling similarities.

Excerpt from: Terrified patrons flee as bullets spray crowd

“A handful of “idiots” regularly show up at dances and parties with weapons but are turned away by security guards. They’re kids, they’re young punks, 19 or 20,” he said. They drink all day and smoke all day and go out at night looking for trouble. It’s just a small portion of the community and they make it bad for everybody else.”

- Gun violence in Toronto has escalated in the last few years

- Even with tight gun laws in Canada guns are still finding their way across the border

- Charges for gun smuggling into Canada are a joke!

- Youth violence is in most cases accompanied by gun violence

- Toronto gangs are becoming more violent and organized

————Additional Stats & Info————

Staring Down The Barrel – CBC Investigative Feature Story

Approximately 3,000 guns are reported missing, lost or stolen each year in Canada, by definition falling into the wrong hands. (Source: http://www.guncontrol.ca/Content/FirearmsMisuse.html)

The Metropolitan Toronto Police Service’s report on gun related crime found that in 1997, of the 2304 firearms seized by police, rifles and shotguns figured prominently at 41.7% while 52.8% were handguns, 1% machine guns, 0.5% machine pistols and 3.9% were unknown.( Metropolitan Toronto Police. 1998. Report on Gun Related Crime – Emergency & Protective Services Committee Request. April 2.)

Canada’s border with the United States is a site of concern for arms smuggling. In 2000, 820 handguns, 130 shotguns, 166 rifles and 13 antique firearms were seized by Canada Customs officials. This is probably not representative of the true scope of the problem, however, since officials usually check only 3% of cross-border traffic. Firearms tend to flow into Canada from states with loose gun control regulations, such as Ohio or Florida. (20) Handguns, which may be easily concealed and transported, may be purchased for $50 to $100 in the US, and resold in Canada for $200 to $400 or more. (21) Frequently, Americans caught smuggling firearms into Canada are simply detained until they pay a $500 fine. (20). (Tom Godfrey, “Have Gun, Will Travel”, Toronto Sun, 30 October 2002. Michele Mandel, “Rise in City’s Gun Deaths Matches Increase in Illegal Firearms”, Toronto Sun, 3 November 2002. http://www.research.ryerson.ca/SAFER-Net/regions/Americas/Can_JY04.html)