A firearms organization with thousands of members across Canada says the federal government’s announcement of new amendments to the previously announced gun ban is a concession, but still targets legal gun owners.
Tracey Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Firearms Rights Coalition (CCFR), said the Liberals figured out “there is no way to ban the ‘scary’ stuff without also banning the hunting stuff.”
She said they had made licensed, law-abiding gun owners the focus of gun control legislation, when they should have been going after criminals using illegal guns.
“If the Liberals were genuine in their concerns, they’d deal with Canada’s pressing issues, the opiate crisis, an explosion in gang violence, bail reform, and a marked decline in mental health. These are the determinants of violence, with or without firearms,” said Wilson.
She said while it was positive that Canada’s 2.3 million gun owners would not face any more “immediate bans,” the government still plans to ban any new semi-automatic, centrefire rifles that have a detachable magazine that can hold more than six rounds. This would ban, for example, a .22 plinker used to hunt gophers or varmints, which typically takes 10 rounds.
The CCFR and other groups sued the federal government in six different legal actions over an Order-In-Council in May 2020 that banned over 1,000 different models of previously legal firearms, with a hearing held in federal court in April.
The applicants included CCFR, firearms manufacturers and suppliers, hunters, and sport shooters. The hearing ran from April 11 to April 20. A decision is pending.
With the new amendments, any gun that is currently legal will remain legal. Wilson said she thinks the government “is preparing to lose” the court case.
Ontario firearms competitor Baz Kanda has to leave Canada to train and compete in international sport shooting events due to the federal government’s proposed gun ban. (Courtesy of Baz Kanda)On May 1, federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced that his government had revised its plan for Bill C-21, and would now only ban certain types of “AR-15 style” firearms. A national handgun freeze remains in effect.
Mendicino said the Liberals will “protect families” by banning AR-15 “assault-style” guns and will introduce new amendments to Bill C-21, a gun control act, to “take action against large capacity magazines, which can be fed into a gun and turn it into a mass shooter.”
“We’ve seen too many deaths as a result of assault-style firearms, AR-15-style firearms,” stated the minister. “These reforms are about keeping AR-15 assault-style firearms off of our streets, while at the same time respecting gun owners significantly.”
The new announcement had a more conciliatory tone from the Liberals in their reference to Canadian hunters.
Mendicino said the Liberal government “understands that hunting isn’t just a pastime. It’s a tradition passed down from one generation to the next. I want to be clear that our government is not targeting hunters and law-abiding gun owners.”
A Browning BAR 270 deer hunting rifle, which would have been prohibited if the Liberal government’s gun legislation amendments passed in Canada. (Courtesy of Tracey Wilson of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights)Backing Down
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said at a news conference on May 1 that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had been forced to back down. He said Trudeau “desperately wanted to ban hunting rifles.”
He posted a video on social media stating, “Ignore his latest flip flop: Trudeau said on this tape he will ban hunting rifles.” He included a video of Trudeau stating, “There are some guns, yes, that we are going to have to take away from people who were using them to hunt.”
According to Poilievre, Trudeau is backing down “because he got caught.”
“And because Canadians of all walks of life from across the country, law abiding, decent, indigenous, Canadians, farmers, rural Canadians, who follow the law, stood up with conservatives and forced him to temporarily pause this plan.”
PolySeSouvient, a group of advocates for a ban on guns in Canada, issued a news release on May 1, stating they were “stunned” that Trudeau backed down on banning “assault weapons” after three decades of lobbying.
“They are proposing a watered down definition that applies only to future models and can be easily circumvented,” said spokeswoman Nathalie Provost. She said it was “a betrayal of all the victims of mass shootings.”
The new legislation, if passed, would not ban any current, legally owned shotguns and rifles. It would only apply to future firearms coming on the market, and place the responsibility on gun manufacturers to properly classify the firearm.
This is a marked departure from the previous amendments, which would have banned thousands of semi-automatic firearms, including centrefire rifles and shotguns used for hunting.
In February, the government withdrew those amendments after outcry from gun owners, industry groups, politicians, and indigenous groups.
According to Mendicino, the Liberal government will introduce a new “standard technical definition” that contains “the physical characteristics of an assault-style firearm.” The bill will only apply to firearms designed and brought on the market after Bill C-21 comes into force.
“We will save lives with it,” Mendicino said.
The minister also brought up the last election, stating Conservatives pledged to get rid of the Liberal ban on “assault-style firearms.”
“These amendments will ensure that any future government will have a very, very difficult time making assault style firearms legal again,” said Mendicino.