The United States and Canada signed four agreements in Ottawa on April 28 meant to reduce cross-border crime, including one that involves increased tracing of guns that are intercepted at the U.S.–Canada border.
The move is intended to enhance efforts to stop firearms trafficking to Canada from the United States, officials from both countries said.
Canada’s Border Services Agency 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.
“Canada and the United States have agreed to strengthen the bilateral cooperation to reduce gun violence,” said Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino. “It means making even more progress on the tracing of illegal guns so that we can hold those criminals and organized criminal networks to account.
“It means more joint investigations into gun smuggling and trafficking. It means even more exchanging of intelligence and information between our law enforcement agencies.”
The agreement on firearms will allow Canada to target “ghost guns,” he said. Gangs often use such guns because they’re privately manufactured, often using 3D printers, which means they’re unregistered and untraceable.
Mendicino signed the four agreements with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas while meeting with him at the 2023 Canada–U.S. Cross-Border Crime Forum, the second such forum. Also present were Canada’s minister of justice and attorney general, David Lametti, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The United States requires sellers of guns to record the serial numbers of the guns they sell and who purchased them. Tracing provides the ATF with key information that the agency can use to investigate and prosecute people who bought the guns that were later sold illegally or smuggled.
“Data and information sharing are powerful tools in the fight against gun violence,” Garland said.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, traces nearly all the handguns involved in crimes, and in 2021, more than 80 percent of those that were traced were found to have come from the United States.
Last year, the two countries’ governments introduced new action intended to tackle crimes involving guns.
“It’s all about meeting the moment, meeting the changes that occur and addressing them in real time—sharing actionable, relevant information in real time,” Mayorkas said.
Regarding opioid trafficking, Garland said authorities will track the ingredients used to create fentanyl and the flow of its components from China.
