Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is reversing course on a platform promise to overturn a ban on some 1,500 makes and models of what the government describes as “military-grade weapons.”
The Liberal government first introduced the ban with an Order in Council in May 2020, which the Conservative platform promised to repeal.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, O’Toole said that the ban will now remain in place under a Conservative government while a public review of the firearm classification system is conducted.
“It’s critically important for me to say to Canadians today that we are going to maintain the ban on assault weapons, we’re going to maintain the restrictions that were put in place in 2020,” he said.
When O’Toole was asked what he would do if the review recommended the 2020 ban should be scrapped, he didn’t directly answer the question, instead saying the review would be a way to “bring the politics out” of gun control.
“We should have a public discussion of difficult issues related to public safety, and it should not be politicized,” he said.
WATCH | O’Toole reverses party position on firearms, will keep Liberal ban:
Erin O’Toole shifts stance on banning assault weapons
15 hours ago
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is facing new criticism for saying he wouldn’t repeal a ban on assault-style weapons if elected, even though his platform promises to do it. 2:03
O’Toole’s reversal comes as the Liberals have been looking to make gun violence and gun control a wedge issue.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau used a media availability on Sunday to tout his party’s plan to strengthen gun-control measures, which includes a buy-back program for barred firearms and a promise of $1 billion to support provinces and territories that implement handgun bans.
Trudeau used much of his prepared remarks to take aim at O’Toole for his party’s position on gun control.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau makes remarks on gun control during the Canadian federal election campaign in Markham, Ont., on Sept. 5. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
“Community safety is not up for negotiation with the gun lobby, and you certainly don’t hand them the pen to write your platform,” Trudeau said, referring to the Conservative leader.
Ontario Liberal Candidate Bill Blair said after O’Toole’s press conference that the Conservative leader was being deceitful with his reversal and accused him of setting up the review so that the gun lobby would eventually get its way.
The Conservative platform says the review will consult “law enforcement, firearms owners, manufacturers, and members of the public.”
“Erin O’Toole stands apparently for everything, and therefore for nothing,” Blair said.
Just on Saturday, O’Toole defended his original plan to rescind the order saying it unfairly targeted law-abiding gun owners such as hunters and sports shooters.
When pressed by reporters on why the sudden change in policy occurred, O’Toole accused Trudeau of “misleading” Canadians while reiterating that the ban will remain in place if the Conservatives form a government.
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Sheldon Clare the president of the National Firearms Association said O’Toole hadn’t reversed his position on the May 2020 restrictions at all.
“I am confident that Mr. O’Toole is a consistent stalwart person who is going to stand by what he has said,” Clare told CBC News.
The Conservatives are promising tougher criminal sanctions on gun-toting gang members and gun smuggling.
The Liberal government had already introduced legislation in February that would introduce a voluntary buy-back program, but the bill didn’t make it past the first reading in the House of Commons.
The Liberals are now promising to make the program mandatory, with the option of having guns made permanently inoperable at government expense.
Trudeau was pressed Sunday on why he is promising to allocate $1 billion to provinces and territories that want to implement a handgun ban in their jurisdictions rather than implementing a national ban.
Bonnie Crombie, the mayor of Mississauga, Ont.; Frank Scarpitti, the mayor of Markham; Martin Medeiros, a regional councillor in Brampton; Dave Barrow, the mayor of Richmond Hill; Rob Burton, the mayor of Oakville; Don Mitchell, the mayor of Whitby; John Taylor, the mayor of Newmarket, and Tom Mrakas, the mayor of Aurora, raise their hands after being asked during the 2019 election campaign who would support a national handgun ban. (CBC News)
At a similar Liberal event with GTA mayors during the 2019 campaign, a reporter asked all the mayors — including leaders from major Toronto-area communities such as Mississauga and Markham — to raise their hands if they’d support a national ban on handguns. They all did.
On Sunday when asked why he was punting the decision to other jurisdictions, Trudeau avoided the question and instead went after O’Toole for wanting to repeal the 2020 ban.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party favours the ban on assault-style weapons but accused both the Conservatives and Liberals of not doing enough.
“Erin O’Toole has not been clear about his stance. The only thing Justin Trudeau has been clear about is that he would rather talk about guns in an election than come up with effective solutions when he has the chance,” he said in an emailed statement.
The federal government has moved to ban the sale and import of several types of semi-automatic firearms in Canada. (CBC News)
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
