Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister and staff, for being with us today on this important matter.
Minister, it has been a while that we have been waiting for you to come to this committee for these consultations. It's six weeks since we wrapped up our consultations.
I know that when you first introduced this bill almost a year ago, you took the position that you wanted this bill passed as quickly as possible, and then, when it came to committee in the late fall, Liberal members on this committee were insistent that we pass this bill within a week. Now this is months later, and you have made us wait six weeks for you to come here.
I do appreciate that you're here now to answer our questions.
You mentioned in your opening remarks that a cornerstone of your legislation in Bill C-21 is to combat gun traffickers, which is something I deeply support. I think that law enforcement also supports that. As you know, the Toronto Police Service has said that almost nine out of 10 guns used in crimes in Toronto are smuggled from the United States. Collectively, police have told us and you that this is a primary focus, and should be, for fighting gun violence in this country.
I appreciate that Bill C-21, based on your remarks, is attempting to do that. I know you have talked on national television about how this bill will strengthen—your words—penalties for gun traffickers from their 10-year maximum sentence to 14 years.
How common is it now to sentence someone to 10 years, the current maximum? How common is that now?