Public Safety committee  Thank you. I would echo those comments, and I think it is helpful to consider the international context as well in which much of this legislation has gone before. Internationally, legislation really seeks to target two common features when it comes to assault weapons: prohibiting semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, and restricting magazine capacity.

Public Safety committee  Thank you. As with any field of study, there are varied opinions and perspectives on the data. There are some lone wolves in this area of research, no question, but the consensus within the scientific community internationally is that comprehensive firearm laws save lives. Within the context of Canada's measuring the impact of gun laws, one of the challenges we do have is that we don't disaggregate data, and it makes it very difficult to study this problem.

Public Safety committee  Thank you. I am here today as a scientist, physician, Canadian citizen and mother. I am a surgeon and epidemiologist at the University of Toronto. I did not set out to study firearms deaths or policy. During my post-doctoral fellowship I examined the major causes of death in the Americas.