Public Safety committee  No, it's not my personal opinion either. It's my personal opinion and the position of the group to ban handguns and semi-automatic weapons, but not civilian use of all weapons.

Public Safety committee  I would just make the point that there's overwhelming evidence internationally that decreasing access to lethal means decreases suicide rates on a national level, on a per-population level, and that the majority of people do not substitute a lethal mechanism. Even if people attempt suicide and that attempt does not result in their death, the majority of people who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to—

Public Safety committee  I'll take that question, thank you. We've met with representatives from many parties, including municipal and federal representatives from the NDP government as well as the Liberal government, and we have sought to meet with members of the Conservative government but have, as of yet, not been successful.

Public Safety committee  That's good to hear.

Public Safety committee  Yes. As you correctly point out, it is complicated, because firearm legislation is a federal jurisdiction but physician regulation and the health care system are provincial matters. You are correct, and I'll hand it over to Dr. Maggi, who can explain the responsibility of physicians related to people who are an immediate risk to themselves under the Mental Health Act.

Public Safety committee  I'll start, then Dr. Maggi can add to it. As we said, we are supportive of the red flag laws because they have been shown to decrease rates of suicide and mass shootings in jurisdictions where they have been properly implemented to protect confidentiality, and with the assistance of a safety plan to make sure that women and children are safe during the process of those firearms being removed.

Public Safety committee  I'm not aware of that specific data, but I can tell you that a recent CMAJ study published by first author David Gomez cited a 42% mortality rate for patients who arrive to hospital. I don't know that specific data. That's not peer-reviewed data. I'm not familiar with that data.

Public Safety committee  Thank you for the question. There is actually strong evidence. I'll defer to my colleague Dr. Maggi on that. She is the mental health expert and knows the literature quite well.

Public Safety committee  We would be delighted to submit, but we would also request that we be allowed to answer the question—two sentences, please.

Public Safety committee  Thank you.

Public Safety committee  Thank you. Gun injury and death is an urgent public health issue. The Canadian Medical Association declares that “Firearm-related injuries and fatalities are a major cause of premature and preventable death in Canada.” A 2020 Ontario study shows that over a 15-year period, there were nearly 6,500 gun injuries, and 42% were fatal.