Pass gun bill without delay, father of Ontario shooting victim tells senators

globalnews.ca:

The father of a woman who was fatally shot in October by her former partner is urging senators to pass a federal gun-control bill without delay.

In a letter sent this week to members of the upper chamber, Brian Sweeney says the legislation contains crucial measures that would improve the way police deal with domestic violence cases involving firearms.

“Implementing these measures is urgent,” Sweeney says in the letter, made available to The Canadian Press. “The bill is the result of years of advocacy from victims and women’s groups, and women have died while the bill has been debated.”

Sweeney’s daughter Angie was shot when her former partner Bobbie Hallaert broke into her home in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., two months ago. Hallaert proceeded to a second home and killed three of his own children and injured another woman, who survived. The gunman then took his own life.

“Angie’s death, like that of all victims, leaves behind a trail of broken hearts and broken lives,” Sweeney says in the letter.

He plans to be in Montreal today to help families and survivors mark the anniversary of the grim day in 1989 when a man with a Ruger Mini-14 killed 14 women at the city’s Ecole Polytechnique.

“The 14 victims and my Angie deserve better than our current laws and procedures,” Sweeney says. “Three innocent children also paid the price of our failed system.”

Police probing the Sault Ste. Marie shootings said late last month they were trying to determine how Hallaert obtained the SKS rifle and .38-calibre revolver seized during their investigation. He did not have a current firearms licence at the time of the shootings.

Sault police have confirmed the offender was involved in intimate partner investigations in the past.

The federal bill