The Canadian government will present new gun laws by the end of the year, iPolitics reported today, citing Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale.
The legislative package will cover all the proposals outlined in the ruling Liberal Party’s 2015 campaign plan, iPolitics said, citing Goodale. The measures include more paperwork and restrictions to buy, sell, transport and import guns.
The announcement comes two days after a shooter killed more than 50 people and injured about 500 at a concert in Las Vegas. The Coalition for Gun Control and PolySeSouvient, which are hostile to legal gun owners and shooters, have criticized the government for being slow to make good on its campaign promises, Calibre magazine said, citing iPolitics.
Sales Spike Ahead?
Gun sales can increase when people expect stiffer laws as shooters rush to buy firearms before the measures take effect. Canada, where buying guns and ammunition requires a police-issued licence, is home to more than 2 million men and women with permits.
“I would expect to have a legislative package consistent with the commitments that we made during the election campaign, with respect to firearms, before the House of Commons before the end of the year,” Goodale said, according to Calibre. “We’ve been working on the legislative package that is required, that work is ongoing.”
2015 Election Promises
The following are the Liberal Party’s gun proposals as outlined in their October 2015 election platform, p. 54:
Guns
We will take action to get handguns and assault weapons off our streets.
Over the last decade, Stephen Harper has steadily weakened our gun laws in ways that make Canadians more vulnerable and communities more dangerous.
We will take pragmatic action to make it harder for criminals to get, and use, handguns and assault weapons. We will:
• repeal changes made by Bill C-42 that allow restricted and prohibited weapons to be freely transported without a permit, and we will put decision-making about weapons restrictions back in the hands of police, not politicians;
• provide $100 million each year to the provinces and territories to support guns and gangs police task forces to take illegal guns off our streets and reduce gang violence;
• modify the membership of the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee to include knowledgeable law enforcement officers, public health advocates, representatives from women’s groups, and members of the legal community;
• require enhanced background checks for anyone seeking to purchase a handgun or other restricted firearm;
• require purchasers of firearms to show a license when they buy a gun, and require all sellers of firearms to confirm that the license is valid before completing the sale;
• require firearms vendors to keep records of all firearms inventory and sales to assist police in investigating firearms trafficking and other gun crimes;
• immediately implement the imported gun marking regulations that have been repeatedly delayed by Stephen Harper; and
• as part of our investment in border infrastructure, invest in technologies to enhance our border guards’ ability to detect and halt illegal guns from the United States entering into Canada.
We will not create a new national long-gun registry to replace the one that has been dismantled.
We will ensure that Canada becomes a party to the international Arms Trade Treaty.
Related Information
- Canada Postpones Firearms Marking Regulations for Eighth Time
- Andrew Scheer on Guns: Recap of New Conservative Leader’s Policy
- Liberal Party Platform Shows Ignorance About Gun Laws
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