I, too, am in complete agreement. I'm going to continue where Mr. Gélinas left off.
I was a station supervisor and patrol officer for a long time. We did indeed receive calls and arrested people who had in their possession an airgun that was a replica firearm. This can certainly be a source of confusion for patrol officers. Even though there haven't been many cases of police officers having to neutralize an individual holding an airgun, it has happened in the past. We absolutely have to avoid this type of situation.
A sixteen-year-old kid who with an airgun tucked into his belt could simply want to get rid of it in front of police officers, without necessarily threatening anyone. But police officers analyze a situation in a matter of seconds, and if the firearm looks real, tragic accidents can occur. It has happened a few times in Canada. Such situations must be avoided.
Earlier on, someone spoke about the possibility of changing the way these firearms are manufactured so that they do not resemble real firearms. The manufacturing process would have to be completely overhauled. Even if we put colours on the replica guns or toys, a young person could simply paint the thing black, for example. We need much stricter measures.
We could also think about making parents aware of certain conditions that their children should abide by when they use airguns. That would be another step in the right direction.