Trudeau May Order Gun Bans, CTV News Reports, Citing Bill Blair

Reading Time: 4 minutes

TheGunBlog.ca — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may order gun bans against federally licensed hunters, farmers and sport shooters, CTV News reported today, citing an interview with Bill Blair, the minister exploring mass confiscation.

Blair didn’t rule out the governing Liberal Party prohibiting firearms through a so-called “Order in Council” before the October election, he told the TV station’s Question Period show in an interview with Evan Solomon.

From May 9: Trudeau Has ‘Secret Plan’ on ‘Sweeping Gun Ban,’ MP Clement Says

‘Opportunity’

Solomon referred to forced gun seizures as an “opportunity.”

Opinion polls suggest gun bans would boost Liberal votes, and Blair didn’t exclude prohibition and confiscation if the Liberals are re-elected.

“There is no measure that I think we can rule out that will legitimately contribute to greater safety for our citizens,” Blair said in the interview.

CTV News Video

Discussion of gun bans starts at 5:10

Excerpts From CTV News Question Period

Transcribed by TheGunBlog.ca:

Solomon: Are you going to act? Will there be a gun ban?

Blair: Evan, I can tell you, there are weapons that are designed solely to kill people. Their whole intent and purpose is to be efficient in the killing of people, and we’ve seen in mass murders in Canada around the world that those weapons have been used for that purpose because they are efficient killing machines. I feel very strongly that there’s no place for those weapons in Canadian society. …

Solomon: The government could implement this — there’s only a couple weeks left in the House, but you could do an Order in Council over the summer. You could do an assault-weapons ban. Are you as the minister pushing the prime minister to get this done? … This would be an opportunity. Are you pushing to get this done?

Blair: I can tell you, for me there is no greater responsibility than the safety of our communities and the safety of our kids. I believe there’s no place for those particular weapons in our society. I’ve made my view very clearly known. I believe it’s a view shared by my government and a view shared by most Canadians.

Solomon: OK, so I just want to make sure I got this right. You’re not ruling out an Order in Council to institute some kind of gun ban, some kind of weapon ban, over the summer? You would not rule that out?

Blair: I want to be really clear. There is no measure that I think we can rule out that will legitimately contribute to greater safety for our citizens.

…

Blair (discussing semi-automatic rifles): Those weapons I think represent an unacceptable risk to Canadians. I’ve worked most of my life to keep Canadians safe, and so I believe very strongly that there is more that we must do.

Solomon: So if there is no order in council this summer, which is possible, it could be in the election platform. Bill Blair would want that.

Blair: Bill Blair wants Canadians to be safe. So does my prime minister. So does my government.

Long Guns, Handguns

CTV News reported earlier on its website the prohibitions may cover handguns.

OTTAWA – Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair said implementing a national handgun ban is still on the table, and would not rule out issuing a federal order instead of legislation given the limited window of Parliamentary time.

Context

  • Bill C-71 Bans. The Liberals are about to pass Bill C-71 as a new law to simplify instant gun prohibition while delaying confiscation until the owners die. This is one of the bill’s most-sinister novelties. It will start with measures against more than 10,000 hunters, farmers, sport shooters and firearm collectors who own CZ 858 and Swiss Arms rifles.
  • Mass Confiscation. Blair has been examining mass confiscation for nine months.
  • Heritage & Culture. Hunting and sport shooting are part of Canadian culture and heritage, and millions of men, women and youth hunt and shoot safely and responsibly. Canada is home to 2.2 million adults with firearm licences, more than play golf or hockey.
  • Wrong Target. All guns are banned already for everyone under threat of prison unless the owner has a firearm Possession and Acquisition Licence from the federal police.
  • Bans Kill Sport, Industry, Jobs. Gun bans could turn lawful owners into criminals overnight, shut down the shooting sports and the firearm industry, and kill tens of thousands of jobs.
  • Bans Boost Liberal Votes. Opinion polls show Liberal voters are the most hostile to gun owners and favour bans. A government communication adviser said last year new restrictions and prohibitions present an “untapped opportunity” for the Liberals to win re-election this year.

Team Canada Pistol Shooters, Yesterday

https://twitter.com/TheGunBlog/status/1129770135240290305

Related

2019

2018

https://twitter.com/TheGunBlog/status/1130160702734385157

—

Update at 13:15 Toronto time: Rewrites story with quotes from CTV News video clip.