RCMP to Pick Which Guns to Confiscate Under Trudeau, CTV Reports

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TheGunBlog.ca — The RCMP will decide which rifles to confiscate from hunters, farmers and sport shooters if Justin Trudeau is re-elected prime minister of Canada next month, CTV News reported, citing Trudeau’s Liberal Party.

The comment seems to contradict election promises made Sept. 20 by Trudeau and Bill Blair, his minister for confiscation.

Mass Incarceration

They outlined plans for the mass incarceration of men and women with RCMP-authorized firearm licences unless they surrender about 250,000 of their rifles in the first wave of seizures.

Trudeau Promises Mass Gun Bans, Confiscations in Election 2019

RCMP to Decide

CTV News cited Carlene Variyan, a Liberal spokesperson, in an article updated today. The article profiles and critiques a report by TheGunBlog.ca.

From CTV News:

In terms of when the Liberals plan to specify which semi-automatic weapons will be banned, Variyan wrote that a re-elected Liberal government would allow the “expert, non-partisan Canadian Firearms Program under the RCMP to determine classifications.”

250,000 Mainly ‘Non-Restricteds’

Blair said the Liberals will start by ordering owners to turn in about 250,000 rifles, CBC News reported Sept. 20. Most of the guns are legally classified as “Non-restricted,” based on estimates by TheGunBlog.ca.

Trudeau said the Liberals will target owners of handguns, 5-round AR-15 target rifles, and “military-style assault rifles,” without specifying what he meant. He said he’d give the rifle owners two years to obey before they risk jail.

RCMP Dual Role

The Ottawa-based Royal Canadian Mounted Police gives its opinion on the legal class of firearms based on its interpretation of the law. The government decides the law and can arbitrarily prohibit any model of firearm at any time.

The RCMP also arrests people and seizes their firearms based on its own opinion, without waiting for the opinion to be validated in court.

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CameronSS Comment

Comment by CameronSS on Canadian Gun Nutz:

Cart before the horse. You can not claim that there are 250,000 or so firearms without already having the list of firearms to be banned. The RCMP currently determine classifications based on the rules set by parliament in the criminal code. By saying the RCMP can determine what SHOULD be prohibited, they are in effect allowing the RCMP to dictate what the criminal code should say.

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For more info on the RCMP’s role as law-maker and law-enforcer, buy The Bill C-71 Book from our Bill C-71 page.

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Update at 12:40 on Sept. 28: Rewrites to contrast statements by Trudeau and Blair vs. Variyan.

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Update at 12:55 on Sept. 27: Adds CameronSS comment.