An East Vancouver retailer said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unleashed a short-term arms race on May 30 when he announced that gun transactions would be frozen later this year.
“We’re obviously selling more than we normally would, because everyone wants to get past the legislation they’re trying to pass,” said Victor Camele, general manager of Italian sporting goods. “But on the other hand, it will destroy our business.”
Trudeau announced that the Liberal government would be “limiting the handgun market” by freezing the import, purchase, sale and transfer of firearms. He made the announcement six days after the mass murder of 19 elementary students and two of his teachers in a Texas city. But the gunman used assault rifles, not a pistol.
Camele said her store’s clientele is mostly target shooters and sportsmen and those in a hurry to buy are already licensed. In the long run, he said the federal measure is likely to be a 40% success for his business, which also includes the sale of ammunition, weapons cases and accessories.
Elsewhere, at Lever Arms Service on Vancouver’s West Side, the employee who answered the phone after opening on June 1 put a reporter on hold and heard a customer say that the transfers were they are delayed by a large volume. He returned the call and declined an interview because his store was too busy.
A Port Coquitlam retailer announced on Facebook on May 31 that it was closing its store to face-to-face customers due to the shopping frenzy and urging customers to use its website.
Tiger Arms Ltd.’s online catalog shows guns priced from $ 289.99 for a Norinco CF98 to a special edition CZ 75B for $ 9,299.99. But most guns are listed as “sold out.”
“By context, we’ve sold approximately 450 guns in the last 24 hours,” the post on Tiger Arms ’Facebook page said. “To clarify, we’re not closing, we’re just closing the retail store.”
Another post asked customers to be patient. “In light of the recent announcement, we are full of orders! Orders are being processed as quickly as humanly possible, calling to check the status of your order just slows it all down.”
No one in the store responded to comment.
Tiger Arms is named after Rongxiang “Tiger” Yuan, director of the company from 2013 to 2020 and a veteran of the People’s Liberation Army of China. In July 2016, Yuan made three donations to the Liberal Party, including one to the Trudeau Riding Association, for a total of $ 4,300.
As of March 2020, Hai Yan Avery Chow of Richmond is listed as the sole director of Tiger Arms.
Canadian handgun buyers must have a possession and acquisition license in accordance with the Firearms Act. Anyone who does not have a valid firearms license must wait at least 28 days to obtain the license and must pass the Canadian Firearms Security Course. Applicants must undergo background checks that include disclosing current and past marital partners and whether they have had criminal, emotional or financial issues.
The federal government said 1.1 million handguns were registered, a 71% increase between 2010 and 2020. On May 27, the Canadian Center for Justice and Community Security Statistics released a report analyzing violent crime related to firearms from 2009 to 2020. More than six out of 10 violent crimes related to firearms in urban areas involved a gun. In rural areas, the most common firearm was a rifle or shotgun.
“Rates of gun possession offenses have risen since 2013,” the report said. “Other non-violent weapons offenses decreased or remained stable during this period, with the exception of arms trafficking, including unauthorized import or export, which increased in both 2019 and 2020.”