Families and survivors of the Dawson College shooting are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to strengthen firearms laws, saying key gun-control measures promised in the wake of mass shootings remain unfinished nearly 20 years after the deadly attack.
In an open letter released Wednesday, the advocacy group Dawson Families for Gun Control urged the federal government to take action on what it describes as three outstanding priorities: completing the ban on assault-style firearms, closing loopholes involving large-capacity magazines and strengthening oversight of exemptions to Canada’s handgun freeze.
The letter comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 13, 2006 shooting at Montreal’s Dawson College, when a gunman opened fire with legally acquired firearms, killing 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa and wounding 19 others.
“Since that terrible day, survivors and families of Anastasia and those injured or traumatized have urged successive governments to fix the laws that enabled a troubled and angry young man to legally obtain firearms and accessories capable of causing mass casualties,” the letter states.
While acknowledging progress, including the prohibition of many assault-style firearms and the federal handgun freeze, the families argue significant gaps remain.
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They say many prohibited firearms are still in civilian hands because of an ongoing amnesty period tied to the federal buyback program. The group is also calling for regulations to ban magazines that can be modified to hold more rounds than legally permitted and wants stricter national standards governing exemptions for Olympic and Paralympic sport shooters.
The families say Ottawa should move forward on those measures without further consultation.
The letter is signed by relatives of victims and survivors connected to the Dawson College shooting.
Louise Hevey De Sousa, whose daughter Anastasia was killed in the attack, said families have been waiting too long for governments to act.
“I think action really needs to be taken now. It’s enough,” she told Global News. “It’s been 20 years since Dawson and even longer since Polytechnique, so I don’t think it’s really acceptable.”
Hevey De Sousa also pointed to Montreal’s recent incident of gun violence this past June as evidence that stronger measures are needed.
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the upcoming anniversary is “a solemn reminder of the devastating consequences of gun violence and of our shared responsibility to keep communities safe.”
The federal government said it remains committed to its firearm-control agenda, including the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program.
According to the minister’s office, more than 142,000 assault-style firearms have been declared, collected or destroyed through the program to date.
The government also highlighted broader efforts to combat gun violence, including investments in border security, additional Canada Border Services Agency and RCMP personnel, and funding aimed at disrupting organized crime networks involved in firearms trafficking.
“Altogether, these measures reflect our comprehensive approach: removing dangerous firearms from communities, strengthening our borders, supporting law enforcement, and disrupting the organized criminal networks that fuel gun violence,” the statement said.
Dawson College will hold a commemorative ceremony Friday to mark the 20th anniversary of the shooting.
On Sunday, the anniversary of the attack, members of Anastasia De Sousa’s family will gather at her gravesite, continuing a tradition they have observed each year since her death to honour the life she never had the chance to complete.