Canada and U.S. agree to trace guns intercepted at border

View of items seized by the Alberta RCMP after detentions at Coutts Border Blockade, in Coutts, Alberta, Canada February 14, 2022 in this handout picture. Royal Canadian Mounted Police/Handout via REUTERS

OTTAWA – Canada and the United States have agreed to trace guns that are intercepted at the border, a move meant to enhance efforts to stop the smuggling of handguns to the north from the world’s biggest private firearm market, according to a Canadian government document.

The agreement is set to be announced later on Friday when Canada’s Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas meet in Ottawa, according to a news release seen in advance by Reuters.

Canada’s Border Services Agency (CBSA) will cooperate with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to trace guns seized at the border to see who purchased them and whether they were previously used in crimes.

“This agreement will enhance cooperation around investigations into gun smuggling and trafficking, facilitate the exchange of intelligence between agencies and improve the tracing of illegal guns,” the document says.

Last year, some 1,101 firearms were seized at the border, a government source not authorized to speak on the record said. That’s broadly in line with 2021, when 1,110 were confiscated, according to CBSA figures.

The United States traces guns by requiring firearm dealers to record the serial numbers of the guns they sell and who purchased them. Tracing provides key intelligence to the ATF, which can then investigate and prosecute buyers of firearms that are subsequently sold illegally or smuggled.

Previously, gun tracing in Canada has been inconsistent. Canada traced only 6-10% of guns involved in crimes, according to 2019 data from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), a federal agency.

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, traces nearly all the handguns involved in crimes, and in 2021 more than 80% of those that were able to be traced were found to have come from the United States.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government introduced new legislation last year to fight gun violence, including a freeze on handgun sales and a ban on sales of large-capacity magazines.

Mendicino, Mayorkas, Canada’s Justice Minister David Lametti and U.S. Merrick Garland will meet on Friday as part of the so-called Cross Border Crime Forum.

There will be a joint press conference at 3:30 pm ET (1930 GMT) to outline the agreements.