Following a horrific mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has indicated that the Canadian government will move forward with new gun control measures “in the coming weeks.”
In previous parliaments, the Liberals have made changes to Canada’s gun laws, including tightening background check requirements and banning more than 1,500 “gun-style” models and variants. assault “. And while some elements of his plans have yet to be carried out, including his proposed compulsory arms purchase program, in the 2021 federal election, Trudeau promised to go further.
As part of his tenure, and following the promises of the Liberal campaign, the Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, has been tasked with advancing a number of arms control measures, including the recent announcement of regulations. on verification of firearms licenses and maintenance of commercial records.
As for what is pending, and which could soon come from the federal government, the Liberals have promised:
- Continue to demand that owners of prohibited firearms resell them to the government so that they are destroyed or “become inoperable”;
- Pass to ban the sale or assignment of high-capacity magazines that may contain more than the legal number of bullets;
- Require long-range magazines to be permanently altered “so that they may never contain more than five cartridges”;
- Provide funding to the provinces and territories that are advancing with the ban on handguns in their municipalities;
- Increase maximum penalties for trafficking and smuggling of firearms; i
- Table “red flag laws” that would allow the removal of firearms immediately if the owner is considered a threat to them or others.
Speaking about the U.S. shooting, the public safety minister said it was a reminder that “we still have a lot of work to do” in Canada.
“It’s not just about writing responsible, common-sense laws. It’s not just about investing more in law enforcement … It’s about preventing crime from happening in the first place, is it?” Mendicino said on May 25.
Justice Minister David Lametti also has some overriding responsibilities when it comes to introducing legislation on the “red flag law”.
In an interview with CTV News Channel’s Power Play on May 25, he promised that there were “concrete measures” in the works in which he and other ministers have participated. However, he declined to give details on what exactly the government plans to do. the short term.
“But I can say that there are options for working with municipalities regarding the restrictions of the Firearms Act, which we could work with municipalities to enforce. There are obviously provisions in the Penal Code,” he said. dir Lametti. I promise nothing. of that, I will only say that these are the kinds of discussions that have taken place. “
With just a few weeks to go before the spring session of the House of Commons before MPs take a summer break to debate and pass legislation, and other priority bills that are already going through Parliament, if a new bill is introduced on arms control, as Trudeau has said. in the coming weeks, “is unlikely to happen before the fall.
Given the length of time that opposition parties would like to study any proposed new legislation and the time it may take to implement any regulations arising from potential new laws, it could be some time before there are further updates to the proposed laws. Canadian Firearms