Glen, though you and I could debate it, I think it's important to hear what the people responsible for keeping our communities said.
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police said, “Ontario’s police leaders support a prohibition on all military-designed assault rifles. In our view, these weapons have no place in our communities and should be reserved for use by Canada’s military”.
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police declared that there should be a ban on the importation of these weapons. They said that, “Military assault rifles”—their language—“were produced for the sole purpose of killing people in large numbers.”
The current president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police said, in response to the prohibition we introduced May 1, that the association believe that the measure taken by the government were balanced and ensured the safety of their members when they respond to calls for service.
I think the evidence is overwhelming—