New Gun Law Unlikely Before Late January at the Earliest

TheGunBlog.ca — The Canadian government is unlikely to present its new gun laws this year, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Safety said, suggesting the new paperwork and restrictions on shooters won’t be revealed until late January at the earliest.

Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale told media yesterday that the new measures are “unlikely” to be tabled to parliament before the last day of this session on Dec. 15, Scott Bardsley, a spokesman for the minister’s office, said today by telephone. Parliament resumes on Jan. 29, according to the official calendar.

The Liberal Party, which now controls parliament, said in its 2015 election campaign it would require more checks when buying or selling guns, more procedures and paperwork to take firearms to a shooting range or gunsmith, more list-keeping by gun stores, and new markings on imported guns.

The government had planned to table the new law this year. CTV News reported yesterday that it had been delayed until next year.

“It’s in the near future,” Bardsley said today, declining to elaborate on the specific timing or content of the law. The plan will be a set of “legislative measures” tabled in the House of Commons, not Orders in Council which take effect without parliamentary debate.

Bardsley commented further by e-mail in response to questions from TheGunBlog.ca. Here is an excerpt:

From: Scott Bardsley, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

To: TheGunBlog.ca

Date: 01 Dec. 2017

The government believes in effective firearms measures that prioritize public safety while ensuring fair treatment for law-abiding firearms owners.

We’re working hard to get the legislation done in the near future. Our commitment was to get it done in our mandate, and we will. Efforts in the past to deal with a topic that has the potential to become controversial have ended up foundering. When Minister Goodale puts forward the package, he wants to make sure it is one that will succeed. It’s important to get it right.

…

To be clear, we have said all along that we will not recreate a federal long-gun registry, and we won’t.