OTTAWA-
New measures to curb guns are expected to be a central feature of federal legislation introduced this afternoon, the latest set of proposed, and probably bolder, actions by the Liberal government to control access to firearms. in Canada.
Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino will present the bill after the daily question period before joining Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and voices of support, including some city mayors, from across the country for a press conference at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa.
The legislation will revive some federal measures that were not approved before last year’s general election and will concretize new proposals made during the subsequent campaign.
They include the compulsory purchase of weapons that the government considers assault firearms, a crackdown on high-capacity firearms magazines and efforts to combat arms smuggling.
Liberals also pledged to work with provinces and territories that want to ban handguns.
Although the bill does not provide for a national ban, the government could take action in this direction by phasing out gun ownership with a limit on the number of firearms licenses, banning the import and manufacture of new weapons or enacting tougher storage standards.
Leading arms control group PolySeSouvient has criticized the government’s approach to leaving the arms ban in individual provinces, saying it would create an ineffective mosaic of rules in Canada.
Trudeau defended the approach last week, citing “a number of views and opinions across the country.”
Speaking about the Robb Elementary School shooting that killed 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, Trudeau said Canadians are “remarkably united” in wanting to reduce armed violence in their homes.
“This unit is what we will move forward with as we take new steps in the coming weeks on gun control,” Trudeau told a news conference in Saskatchewan last Tuesday.
An “assault-style” firearms ban – the government’s flagship promise to control weapons so far – means moving forward with the mandatory purchase of models that the government banned in May 2020.
The plan has won praise from gun control advocates, but Conservative MPs and others who oppose the plan have suggested it be aimed at legitimate gun owners rather than preventing illegal firearms. fall into the wrong hands.
The repurchase will cover about 1,500 models of firearms that the government banned by council order because they have no place in hunting or sport shooting.
But some similar models are still legal, and gun control advocates say Canadian manufacturers have managed to circumvent the rules by introducing new firearms.
PolySeSouvient has urged the government to change the firearms classification system to eliminate gaps and capture all current and future weapons that fall into this category.
Several women’s groups have also called on the government to remove a provision in the previous iteration of the bill that called for potential victims to seek a court order to deprive a harasser or abuser of their weapons.
The National Association of Women and the Law and several other groups warned in a letter to Mendicino this month that the so-called red flag provision relieves responsibility for enforcing the authorities ’arms law on others, including the possible targets of violence.
“There is no support for discharging or eroding the responsibility of law enforcement and other government officials to implement gun laws,” the letter said.
“Citizens or other organizations, let alone potential victims, should not be expected to be at risk by going to court to seek action that should be immediate and under the direct responsibility of the police.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 30, 2022