Ottawa-
Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest on Tuesday vowed to subject the national ban on so-called assault firearms to a classification review by a panel of experts.
It comes after the former Quebec prime minister said in March, when specifically asked about the ban, that he was not “trying to change the law as it is.”
“This is not on my program,” Charest told The Canadian Press at the time.
Asked about the apparent change, campaign spokeswoman Laurence Toth said Charest maintains its starting position. What he is proposing is a revision of regulations and not a change in legislation, he said.
The party’s position on firearms was scrutinized during last year’s federal election campaign, when former leader Erin O’Toole struggled to articulate whether to propose lifting the federal ban on some 1,500 models. of what liberals call assault weapons.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau imposed the ban using regulations introduced through a council order in May 2020. He was also the one who pressured O’Toole during the recent federal race in his campaign promise to repeal it.
Charest’s position on the ban is similar to that finally adopted by O’Toole last year. After several days of confusion surrounding his position, O’Toole inserted a footnote on the party platform clarifying that he would maintain the ban but subject it to a review.
“A Charest government will implement common sense gun laws by taking this divisive wedge problem out of the hands of politicians and handing over gun classification to a group that represents both police and firearms experts,” Michelle Coates Mather , also a spokesman for Charest. , he said Tuesday.
“The scope of this panel will include a review of Trudeau’s 2020 council order while decisions are made based solely on public safety.”
Firearms advocates and gun owners are part of the party base, which is heavily concentrated in western Canada, so it is typical for candidates for leadership to release property-related policies. of firearms.
Gun control has also re-emerged as a problem during the race to find O’Toole’s replacement thanks to the Liberal government’s introduction of new legislation in the House of Commons proposing to freeze the sale. and the import of weapons.
Trudeau says he wants parties to work together to ensure the bill passes quickly through the minority parliament.
Longtime Ottawa MP Pierre Poilievre, who presents himself as a “freedom” campaigner, criticized the new legislation as a “Hollywood approach to gun classification.” of fire “and promised to focus more resources on stopping the illegal smuggling of weapons everywhere. The limit.
“Firearms should be classified according to what they do, not how they look,” it said in a statement.
To establish the classification criteria, Poilievre also undertook to bring together a panel of experts including First Nations sport shooters and hunters.
Leslyn Lewis, who finished third in the 2020 leadership race, sent an email to supporters on Tuesday accusing the Liberals of pursuing politics with public safety.
“Dr. Lewis is frustrated on behalf of Canadians who want laws that make sense and protect people,” a campaign spokesman told The Canadian Press.
“It will review all existing firearms laws and replace Liberal legislation with laws that will make Canadians safer.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 31, 2022.