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A deadly shooting in Montreal has reignited Canada’s gun control debate, with Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada calling on the federal government to “go further” even as critics question what additional restrictions would accomplish.
The comments came after a tragic incident Monday that left a Montreal police officer, a civilian, and the suspect dead.
Following a visit to the city’s Côte-des-Neiges district, Ferrada offered condolences to the victims’ families and praised first responders who responded to the scene.
“You can feel the pain,” she told reporters.
But while discussing ways to prevent future tragedies, the mayor also argued that Canada should consider additional gun control measures.
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Mayor Wants to Go “Further”
Ferrada acknowledged that firearms play legitimate roles in hunting and Indigenous communities. However, she argued that Montreal needs stronger controls over guns on city streets.
“I think we can go further,” she said. “In a city like Montreal, we need to have a better control what’s happening in the streets in terms of gun control.”
She suggested the federal government could explore additional restrictions aimed at reducing access to firearms.
The mayor also spent considerable time discussing social media, arguing that graphic images shared after the shooting were harmful to victims’ families and communities.
Ferrada expressed concern about online radicalization, criminal recruitment, and what she described as increasingly toxic online discourse.
A Familiar Debate
The comments immediately raised a question often heard after violent crimes: What specific gun law would have prevented this attack?
Canada already has many of the restrictions frequently promoted by American gun-control advocates. The country requires firearm licensing, registration for certain firearms, magazine limits, background checks, and heavily restricts public carry.
Yet the attack still occurred.
That point was highlighted by commentator Colion Noir, who argued that the incident exposed the limits of relying solely on firearm regulations to stop determined criminals.
In a recent video, Noir noted that the suspect allegedly ignored laws that were already on the books while ordinary citizens remained largely unable to carry firearms for self-defense.
The Unanswered Question
As of this writing, investigators continue piecing together exactly what happened.
What is clear is that one police officer lost his life despite responding alongside trained and armed colleagues. A civilian also died during the incident.
Those facts make it difficult to argue that additional restrictions automatically translate into greater public safety.
The reality is that violent criminals rarely concern themselves with licensing requirements, magazine limits, or firearm prohibitions.
That doesn’t mean policymakers should stop searching for solutions. But it does raise an important question.
Before demanding more gun control, officials should explain precisely which existing law failed, how a new law would have changed the outcome, and why criminals who ignored the current rules would suddenly obey the next set.
Until then, calls for “more gun control” risk sounding more like a reflex than a solution.
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