Canadian Liberals to Introduce New Gun Control Law

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says that the Liberal government plans to introduce a new gun-control law.

In a meeting with the public safety committee on March 1, Mendicino said the new law would be proactive. Still, he did not share any more specifics on the timing or elements of said legislation.

Public Safety Canada is the agency responsible for creating the policy, legislative, and regulatory requirements for the safe and legal use of guns.

The announcement about the new gun-control law comes after a recent shooting at a high school in Scarborough.

On February 14, emergency crews arrived at the David and Mary Thomson Collegiate, where a 14-year-old suspect shot Grade 12 student Jahiem Robinson.

The suspect was taken into custody on the same day and was charged with first-degree murder. The ruling was decided since family law in Scarborough states that parents are only liable for their child’s actions if their child takes, steals, or destroys property.

With the Liberals’ push for a new gun-control law, they can revive some federal measures that failed to pass before last year’s general election. They can also flesh out the proposed rules made during the subsequent campaign.

The Liberals sought a mandatory buyback of banned guns classified as assault-style firearms. 

The program would make it mandatory for owners of various banned firearms to either sell their guns back to the government or have their guns rendered inoperable at federal expense. 

If the Liberals get approval for the buyback program, guns like the Ruger Mini-14, which was used at the École Polytechnique shooting in 1989, would be sold or rendered inoperable.

Fourteen young women were shot, while 13 others were wounded in the shooting. It was dubbed the “Montreal Massacre” and, for some, indicative of deep-rooted anti-feminist sentiment during that time.

Gun-control advocates voiced their support for the buyback proposal. But some firearm owners and certain members of the Conservative government showed fierce disapproval.

Aside from proposing the program, the Liberals promised to work with any province or territory that seeks to ban handguns, allocating at least $1 billion for the effort.

Additionally, they are looking to crack down on high-capacity firearm magazines and support the fight against gun smuggling.

At the public safety committee meeting, Mendicino was asked about what he would say to the people who believe that gun buybacks and more gun-control laws amount to an attack on innocent and law-abiding civilians.

In response, Mendicino underscored that Liberals seek responsible and strong gun control to protect communities. He believed that firearms have no business in communities because they only serve one purpose: to kill people. 

He said the buyback program would be effective in getting the guns off the streets.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Brenda Lucki shared Mendicino’s sentiment of getting firearms off the streets of communities. She said she was ready to welcome more measures to prevent citizens from making their own guns at home. 

As of 2020, Canada has prohibited more than 1,500 models of assault-style rifles. The upper receivers of M4, M16, AR-10, and AR-15 patterns are also banned.

Under the country’s gun-control law, an individual can only move prohibited firearms under the following circumstances:

• Returning a gun to a police officer without compensation

• Deactivating by an approved business

• Returning a firearm to the owner

• Returning the gun home

• Exporting the guns legally

• Returning the gun to the manufacturer

Additionally, creating firearms requires a business licence. Without proper authorization, it is illegal to make guns at home using various components, like a 3D printer.

The Canada Border Services Agency promised to work closely with the RCMP and other partners to ensure that no prohibited and undeclared firearms and their components would enter the country.