Weakened gun laws and how they’re enforced have led to a spike in the number of restricted firearms in the hands of Canadians — and ultimately in hands of criminals, a leading gun-control advocate says.

Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control, said relaxed licensing processes and legislative changes under the past Conservative government “eroded strict controls” that limited access to certain firearms.

The number of restricted firearms — a category made up predominantly of handguns — owned by Canadians has shot up nearly 50 per cent over the last five years, climbing to 795,854 in 2015 from just under 532,000 in 2011.

At this rate, Cukier said, by 2020, Canada will have double the number of restricted guns than it had in 2009.

“Every illegal gun begins as a legal gun. If you have twice as many restricted firearms in Canada, it’s just inevitable that you’re going to see more of them end up in the wrong hands,” Cukier said.

According to a Toronto police memo obtained by the Star, criminals in this city now get 50 per cent of their illicit guns in Canada. Not long ago, the majority of guns used in Toronto crimes were smuggled from the United States.

The memo cited serious “gaps” have allowed domestic gun trafficking to become “a very real problem.”

A Saturday Star article by Betsy Powell revealed how four different men in the GTA were able to each purchase a small arsenal of handguns over a short period of time without raising any red flags.

The men used valid firearm licences to buy the handguns from legitimate gun stores before hawking the weapons on the black market for inflated prices — a practice known as a “straw purchase.” One of the guns was used in an armed robbery outside Fairview Mall in January 2014.

“Once they have . . . a licence they can buy as many guns as they want,” reads the five-page document dated July 22, 2016. It was written by Supt. Gordon Sneddon of the Toronto Police Service’s Organized Crime Enforcement unit.

Some fault lies with the firearm licensing process, which has a “mindset” that only law-abiding people apply for a gun licence, the memo said.

Last year, nearly 327,000 licences to possess and purchase a gun were issued, a figure that includes renewals. Just under 700 people had their applications rejected, many because they had a court order prohibiting them from having a firearm.

“No one is thinking ‘dirty’ during the review process. Only in extremely rare cases is there ever a personal interview or visit by the (Chief Firearms Officer) or staff in Ontario,” the police memo states.

Cukier said Bill C-42, made law in June 2015, reduced the responsibility of the provinces’ and territories’ Chief Firearms Officer, who oversees firearms licensing.

“In Ontario, historically, the chief provincial firearms officer has been quite rigorous in their reviews of licences,” Cukier said. “(The Bill) limited the ability of the Chief Provincial Firearm Officer to intervene or refuse licences.”

The legislative changes were accompanied by a cultural shift, as well, she said.

“The focus really shifted from public safety to rhetoric suggesting gun control punishes law abiding citizens,” she said.

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The Coalition for Gun Control has called for the current government to take action, including repealing the changes made under Bill C-42 and more rigorous screening for gun licence applicants.