Tod MaffinCanadian Commentator, From Far and Wide · Emotional Support Canadian

Guns and Grief: The Measure of a Nation

8 Mar 2025 · 3 min

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2:30

In this solo commentary, the speaker reacts to a recent mass shooting at a Toronto bar where 12 people were shot and the shooter remains at large. He outlines the reality of Canadian gun laws—no constitutional right to bear arms, mandatory licensing, and strong public support for strict controls, citing statistics on licensing rates, handgun bans, and domestic‑violence gun removal. He acknowledges that mass shootings do occur in Canada, though they are far rarer than in the United States, referencing the 1989 Montreal university shooting and the 2023 Nova Scotia attack. The speaker then addresses the source of illegal firearms, noting that Canadian border seizures show about 90 % of contraband guns originate from the U.S., and rebuts the notion that Canada should blame America for the problem, emphasizing that border enforcement is a bilateral responsibility. Finally, he urges viewers to move beyond online mockery and offer compassion to victims and their families, framing societal measure by how it supports those who suffer rather than how it debates policy.

Chapters

There was a mass shooting tonight in Canada. There's a sentence you don't hear a lot, but it's true. It happened. 12 people were shot in a bar in Toronto. As I record this now, no one's died, the shooter is still at large. And like clockwork, the internet reply guys raced into the world's comment sections to guffaw about Canada's gun laws. I thought you guys had gun control. So let's talk about it. There is no right to bear arms in Canadian law, and the vast majority of Canadians support strict gun control. 89% of us back police taking guns away from people who've committed acts of domestic violence or stalking. 61% support the current ban on the sale or transfer of handguns. Two-thirds of us want even stricter gun control than we have now. All my sources are here. You need a license to get a firearm in Canada, and not even 6% of the population has one. But yes, we've had mass shootings. Rarely, but we have. Most Canadians can only remember two in recent history: one at a Montreal university in 1989 and one 5 years ago in Nova Scotia. They are just as horrific as American shootings, just not nearly as frequent. But if we have such strict gun control Where do the guns even come from? I'll give you a guess. Last year, Canadian border officials seized almost 1,000 illegal firearms, 90% of which came from the US. But you know what you aren't hearing from Canadian leaders? Demands that the Americans look after our border for us. We recognize that when guns come into our country, it's our border guard's job to catch them. That's how borders work. Things coming into Canada are screened by Canadians. Things going into America are screened by Americans. That's why this whole 'the Canadians need to stop the fentanyl coming into the U.S.' argument is just so transparently phony. But none of that matters tonight. 12 people and their families and their friends and the citizens of the city in which they live are hurting tonight. So reply, guys. The people grieving tonight won't hear your clever dunk, but they would feel your kindness. The measure of a society isn't how it debates tragedy, but how it holds those who suffer in its arms.