Quebec pushes Ottawa to act on handguns after Montreal teen killed

Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault is calling on the federal government to do more to take guns off the street, following the fatal shooting of a Montreal teenager.

Guilbault told reporters today in Quebec City that Ottawa needs to be an essential partner in a complicated fight that goes beyond what the province and cities can do alone.

Thomas Trudel, 16, was killed late Sunday in the city's St-Michel district, not far from his home. Police have said the suspect had a brief exchange with the teenager — who wasn't known to police — before shooting him.

Guilbault says the federal government needs to impose tougher penalties for gun violations and tighten borders where illegal weapons are being smuggled into the country.

She says recent investments by the provincial government on a police anti-gun trafficking unit are getting results, adding that the province is planning to spend more money to fight gun crime.

Meanwhile, Premier François Legault today implored the federal government to do more on guns, adding that Montreal is becoming increasingly violent.

"It's terrible, I don't recognize Montreal,'' Legault told reporters on his way into a cabinet meeting in Quebec City.