Rebel News

If red-flag laws exist, why are Quebec police investigating licensed gun owners without cause?

Subhead:According to reports, officers are contacting spouses because their partner legally owns firearms, not because police have received a complaint, opened a criminal investigation, or obtained evidence suggesting violence has occurred.# The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) has launched a new initiative that sees police contacting the spouses of licensed firearms owners in an effort to identify potential cases of domestic violence where a firearm may be present in the home. The program was introduced in response to concerns about intimate partner violence and a series of high-profile femicides in Quebec. But it raises an important question: if Canada already has extensive laws allowing authorities to intervene when domestic violence is suspected, why are police proactively investigating people who have not been accused of any wrongdoing? Canada's firearms laws already provide multiple mechanisms to address genuine safety concerns. Police can seize firearms when there are reasonable grounds to believe public safety is at risk. Firearms licences can be suspended or revoked. Courts can issue protection orders. The federal government's so-called red-flag and yellow-flag provisions were specifically introduced to allow firearms to be removed from potentially dangerous situations before violence occurs. Those tools are designed to respond to evidence, complaints, witness statements, threats, or other indicators of risk. The SQ initiative appears to operate differently.

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