Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, Minister.
I would like to comment first. My comment and question will be directed to the RCMP and the Public Safety and Justice folks.
I did not hear about smart gun technology until this year. I didn't know that it could be an option to have smart gun technology. In this day and age, all sorts of technologies are in place to secure devices. The police have used two-factor authentication for years to protect their computers. They have e-tokens and passwords. As you know, automobiles have all kinds of safety features in them.
Back in 2018, there was the Danforth shooting, where two young ladies lost their lives. They were in the prime of their lives. The gun used in that shooting was a legitimate gun, but it was stolen from a gun dealer in Saskatchewan in 2015. There was a subsequent lawsuit against Smith & Wesson, alleging that smart gun technology is more than 20 years old, but has yet to be used on guns sold in the United States and Canada. According to the lawsuit, Smith & Wesson had entered into an agreement with the U.S. government in 2000 to incorporate smart gun technology in the design of new weapons in March 2003. That was not the case. The gun that was used in the Danforth shooting was manufactured in 2005.
Can you explain to this committee how we can limit the use of smart guns that have biometric restrictions, or these types of weapons to only the owners of the guns? Is it possible to limit them?