Montreal street gangs used $100K of CERB to buy illegal firearms

A joint letter from MPs Stephanie Kusie, as well as Raquel Dancho and Pierre Paul Hus, put into perspective just how much illegal street gangs benefitted from the program.

The letter, addressed to ministers, highlights a recent ruling by Quebec Superior Court Judge Yvan Poulin, who found that a street gang in Montreal "fraudulently obtained over $100,000 from the [CERB] program to fund illegal firearm smuggling operations."

This all but confirms a statement made by an anonymous source to Quebec-based outlet La Presse, which stated that "a few months ago, a source close to the criminal community [said] that members of a street gang in northeast Montreal... had found a flaw in the attribution system of the CERB and thus fraudulently obtained tens of thousands of dollars which would have been used to buy firearms in the black market."

The letter directly asks ministers whether they were aware of the government-funded illegal firearm acquisitions, and "if so, how long were you aware?" Montreal is currently in the midst of a gang-activity boom, with several young people being gunned down in the city's north.

The province's Public Safety Minister Genevieve Guilbault has even gone so far as to say that the Trudeau Liberals need to "take its responsibility" and increase penalties for gun crime.

"If we want to have more severe punishments for those very, very grave crimes, the federal government has to change the Criminal Code," she said, according to CTV News. "That's one of our requests."

The province's premier, Francois Legault, echoed her sentiments, saying that he no longer "recognize[s] Montreal."

The Trudeau Liberals, however, have gone in the opposite direction.

The federal government is instead looking to reduce the severity of sentences for a number of crimes, including gun offenses, in the form of Bill C-22, which would reduce the severity of crimes like illegal firearm possession, gun trafficking, and discharging a firearm with intent.

The bill also seeks to reduce prison time for those who use firearms in a robbery. The stance taken by the Trudeau government has been harshly criticized by the official opposition, with the Conservatives saying "47 percent of Canadians feel that gun violence is a threat to their community... Bill C-22: Liberals removing mandatory prison time for serious gun offenses."