OTTOVA, May 30 (Reuters) – The Canadian government introduced legislation Monday to enforce a “national freeze” on gun sales and purchases as part of a gun control package that will also limit store capacity and ban some toys. which look like weapons.
The new legislation, which resurrects some measures that were postponed last year amid national elections, comes just a week after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in their classroom in Uwalde, Texas.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that new measures are needed as gun violence escalates.
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“We just have to look south of the border to know that if we don’t take firm and swift action, it will get worse and harder to counter,” he said.
The gun freeze will contain exceptions, including for elite sports shooters, Olympic athletes and security guards. Canadians who already own guns will have the right to detain them.
Authorities do not expect the release of weapons in anticipation of the freeze, in part because they are already so tightly regulated, a spokesman said.
Canada has stricter gun laws than the United States, but although the rate of homicides with firearms is less than one-fifth that of the United States, it is higher than that of other rich countries and is growing. In 2020, this is five times higher than Australia.
The percentage in each of 2020 and 2017 was the highest in the country since at least 1997, according to Canadian statistics.
Canada has banned the sale and use of about 1,500 models of assault weapons, such as the AR-15 rifle, two years ago after the mass shooting in Portapic, Nova Scotia, a move some firearms owners say they are challenging in court. Speaking with Trudeau, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino reaffirmed the “upcoming launch of the initial phase” of a program to buy back and compensate the owners of such weapons.
While the Liberals have fewer seats in parliament, the law could be passed with the support of the left-wing New Democratic Party.
The planned legislation will prevent anyone subject to a protection order or who has participated in domestic violence or harassment from obtaining or retaining a firearms license.
This will also require permanently changing long pistol cartridges so that they can never contain more than five rounds and will prohibit the sale and transfer of high capacity cartridges.
The new laws will also ban some toys that look like real weapons, like airsoft rifles. Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a gun last week. Read more
“Because they look the same as real firearms, the police have to treat them as if they were real. This has had tragic consequences,” Justice Minister David Lametti told reporters.
Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed some of the moves, such as the “red flag” provisions in the event of domestic violence, and said he would like more information on implementation and resources for measures such as arms freezes.
He fully supported the crackdown on counterfeit weapons, which he said was a “big challenge”.
“You can’t tell the difference between a replica of a firearm and a real firearm, especially when these cases involving copies of firearms often occur in very dynamic, rapidly evolving circumstances.
Rod Giltaka, leader of the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights, said freezing the gun was “absurd.”
He said authorities were not using tools they already had to tackle gun violence, such as calling people named as references in gun license applications.
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Report by Ismail Shaquille in Ottawa and Anna Meller Paperney in Toronto, edited by Rosalba O’Brien and Richard Pullin
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