In fact, the 1995 laws did help. If the member is suggesting, Mr. Chair, that we just get rid of the 1995 laws, we would see quite a dramatic increase in the firearms offences. If the member is saying to get rid of those mandatory minimum sentences that were there in 1995, there would be a huge difference that we would see.
The effect of the legislative measures in particular in mandatory minimum penalties is difficult to measure exactly because of numerous factors that could affect crime levels. A decrease in the proportion of violent crimes involving firearms began before the 1995 levels and continued to decline between 1995 and 2002. But there were, of course, other mandatory minimum penalties in effect already at that point.
In 1995, 5.4% of all violent crimes involved firearms. This proportion dropped to 2.2% in 2002, less than half of the percentage in 1995. Since 2002, however, the proportion of violent offences involving firearms has continued to increase.