Public Safety committee  I wish that segment of my practice would disappear. The end result is that firearms owners are targeted; they're charged and they're prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The question of whether or not that could occur by decriminalizing it doesn't take it out of the realm of criminal jurisdiction.

Public Safety committee  Thank you very much for the question. The reason I mentioned the Firearms Act reference, the Supreme Court case, was that it's the case in which the validity of the law, in fact the federal regulation of firearms, was disputed by several provinces. The way the Supreme Court solved this issue, and it's key to your point, was by saying that the federal government has jurisdiction to regulate personal property that is otherwise under the jurisdiction of the provincial governments, because it does so using the criminal law power.

Public Safety committee  Absolutely. I think the very first point you raised is the answer to your question, which is that we already have a wonderful database in this country of law-abiding citizens. It is the firearms licensing system. Those individuals are pre-approved through rigorous background checks.

Public Safety committee  Mr. Chair, vice-chairs, honourable members, good afternoon. My name is Solomon Friedman. I'm a criminal defence lawyer in private practice with the Ottawa firm of Edelson Clifford D’Angelo LLP. Although I maintain a comprehensive criminal law practice, I specialize in defending persons charged with firearms offences.