The Liberal government has withdrawn a series of controversial amendments to pending firearms legislation, Bill C-21, that some firearms owners say would have unfairly targeted hunters and farmers.
Faced with fierce opposition from Conservative, NDP and Bloc MPs and firearms rights groups, Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed said Friday the government is withdrawing a long list of guns that would have been classified as “prohibited” as part of a push to ban “assault-style” weapons.
The amendments, which were quietly tabled by a Liberal backbench MP in November, would have banned these weapons under the Criminal Code, rather than through regulation. That change would have made the prohibition much more difficult for future governments to reverse.
The government is scrapping clauses that effectively would have banned any rifle or shotgun that could accept a magazine with more than five rounds — whether it actually has such a magazine or not.
The government also intended to ban long guns that generate more than 10,000 joules of energy, or any gun with a muzzle wider than 20 millimetres — two rules that would have rendered many firearms illegal.
These amendments would have had the effect of banning a number of long guns in wide use by hunters.
C-21, as originally drafted, was designed to ban handguns. The amendments expanded its scope.
Because the amendments strayed so dramatically from how the bill was initially written, opposition parties questioned whether the changes were even admissible under parliamentary rules. Those concerns are moot now that the government has backed down.
The government will still push ahead with C-21, which enacts a handgun sales ban, cracks down on gun smuggling and automatically revokes firearms licences held by domestic abusers.
While backtracking on some of the more contentious elements, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday the government would try to revive some parts of the now-defunct amendments package.
Among other changes, the withdrawn amendments would have defined “assault-style firearm” — a term often used by the government that has no definition in law.
In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics, Mendicino said the government will pursue some sort of ban on firearms “designed for the battlefield that have no place in our communities.”
What’s needed in this minority Parliament, Mendicino said, is support from either the NDP or Bloc — parties that withheld support in the face of backlash from rural dwellers and some Indigenous peoples.
Mendicino conceded the government bungled the process.
“We’ve got to accept responsibility from where we’re at. The step we’ve taken today is about resetting the narrative,” he said, promising the Liberal government still intends to ban firearms used in mass casualty events, like the semi-automatic weapon used in the Quebec City mosque massacre.
Mendicino had defended the amendments before Friday, saying the changes were necessary to reduce gun violence in Canada.
Critics said a ban on popular hunting rifles would do little to make Canadians safer when many crime guns are handguns illegally smuggled over the U.S. border.
Mendicino said the proposed amendments prompted “considerable discussion about the best way to move forward” and “legitimate concerns” were raised by critics “about the need for more consultation and debate.”
“We hear those concerns loud and clear, regret the confusion that this process has caused and are committed to a thoughtful and respectful conversation that is based on facts, not fear,” he said.
Mendicino said the government didn’t draft the amendments to punish rural Canadians, hunters or Indigenous people who rely on these firearms.
“As we’ve said time and again, the government’s intent is to focus on AR-15s and other assault-style weapons. Hunting isn’t just a proud Canadian tradition, it’s a way of life for communities across this country. Bill C-21 isn’t about targeting hunters. It’s about certain guns that are too dangerous in other contexts,” he said.
PolySeSouvient, a gun control group, said it was “shocked” by the government’s decision.
“It is clear that the misinformation propagated by Conservative MPs and the gun lobby has won,” said Nathalie Provost, a spokesperson for the group.
Provost said she wants the Liberal government to work with the NDP and Bloc Québécois to table legislation to deliver on its promise to ban assault weapons.
The Liberal government has already banned what it calls “assault-style” firearms through an order-in-council — a directive from cabinet enacted in May 2020 after the Portapique massacre in Nova Scotia.
The intent of the now-withdrawn Bill C-21 amendments was to codify that assault ban in law (an order-in-council can easily be revoked by another government) and add many more makes and models to the list of illegal firearms.
MP Holland: ‘More work had to be done’ on gun amendment
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Government House Leader Mark Holland said the government “needs more time” to consult with the firearms community before reviving some of the amendments that were scrapped — including a section that would have banned “ghost guns,” which can be bought online and assembled at home.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, a firearms lobby group, called the Liberal reversal “a small win in a bigger battle.”
“It’s imperative we crush #C21 in its entirety. The Liberals are retreating, now is the perfect time to push forward and #ScrapC21 altogether,” Tracey Wilson said. “Good work. Now, let’s refocus and scrap it all.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Friday he “forced Trudeau into a temporary and humiliating climb down.”
“He desperately wanted to ban hunting rifles — it was a sucker punch to our lawful and licensed firearms owners,” Poilievre said of the amendments. “He’s doing this because he got caught. We will not let up. Conservatives will never allow Justin Trudeau to ban hunting rifles.”
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre says his team forced a temporary halt to the contentious firearms legislation amendments.
Poilievre said he described the Liberal backtracking as “temporary,” adding he expects Trudeau will be back with another plan to target rural Canadians, Indigenous peoples and sport shooters who used these firearms.
“God forbid if he ever got a majority — he’d ram it through,” Poilievre said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he supports both a national handgun ban and a move to restrict “assault-style” weapons, but he described the government’s management of the file as a “failure.”
Liberal management of firearms file was ‘horrible’
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh reacts to the withdrawal of gun legislation amendment that would increase number of prohibited firearms.
“It is clear that the Liberal government did not do the necessary work and they mismanaged the entire issue. That is clear,” Singh told reporters, adding the government bungled Indigenous consultation on the issue.
“They endangered the work we need to do to protect our communities.”
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index gained more than 350 points Thursday in a broad rally led by energy and technology stocks, while U.S. markets also rose, led by a one-per-cent gain on the Dow.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 354.22 points at 25,390.68.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 461.88 points at 43,870.35. The S&P 500 index was up 31.60 points at 5,948.71, while the Nasdaq composite was up 6.28 points at 18,972.42.
The Nasdaq lagged an otherwise decent day for Wall St., rising just 0.03 per cent as it was dragged down by Google parent Alphabet and some of its tech giant peers.
The tech company’s stock fell 4.6 per cent after U.S. regulators asked a judge to break it up by forcing a sale of the Chrome web browser.
Amazon shares traded down 2.2 per cent while Meta and Apple both moved lower as well.
After a substantial run for major tech stocks this year, that kind of news “shakes people a bit,” said John Zechner, chairman and lead equity manager at J. Zechner Associates.
Meanwhile, semiconductor giant Nvidia saw its stock tick up modestly by 0.5 per cent after it reported earnings Wednesday evening.
The company yet again beat expectations for profit and revenue, and gave a better revenue forecast for the current quarter than expected.
But expectations for Nvidia have been so high amid the optimism over artificial intelligence that even beating forecasts wasn’t enough to send its stock flying the way it has in previous quarters, said Zechner.
Nvidia essentially caps earnings season in the U.S., with companies largely beating expectations, said Zechner — though those expectations weren’t exactly lofty for companies outside the tech and AI sphere, he added.
The Dow led major U.S. markets as the post-election hopes for economic growth continued to fuel a broadening of market strength, said Zechner.
There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, said Zechner, and there’s no guarantee he will do what he’s promised.
“There’s a lot of unknowns, but for now the markets seem to be assuming that whatever comes of this, the U.S. will continue to lead global growth,” he said.
However, some of Trump’s promises — chief among them widespread tariffs on imports — have sparked bets that inflation may rear its head again.
The market has pared back its expectations for interest rate cuts as a result, said Zechner.
“Nobody’s talking about a half-point cut, that’s for sure,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 71.63 cents US compared with 71.46 cents US on Wednesday.
The January crude oil contract was up US$1.35 at US$70.10 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up nine cents at US$3.48 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$23.20 at US$2,674.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was down three cents at US$4.13 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.
HALIFAX – Uncertainty is a key theme this year at the annual, three-day gathering in Halifax of political leaders, defence officials and policy analysts who aim to promote democratic values around the globe.
The 300 delegates from 60 countries will take part in the Halifax International Security Forum, which begins Friday, less than three weeks after Donald Trump’s United States presidential election victory — a result that has raised questions about U.S. military support for the threatened democracies of Ukraine and Taiwan.
Over the past two years, Trump has repeatedly taken issue with the almost $60 billion in assistance to Ukraine provided by U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, and he’s made vague vows to end the war. The president-elect has also been unclear if his upcoming administration would defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion by China, and has suggested the self-governed island “should pay us for defence.”
Peter Van Praagh, president of the forum, said in an interview Wednesday that in November 2016 — after Trump’s first ascent to the White House — there was “a level of shock that this could happen,” but he said this year shock has been replaced with a feeling of incertitude.
“One of the things that the president-elect Trump brings to the table is a level of uncertainty …. Now everybody is looking to reduce that uncertainty and get some type of clarity on what his priorities will be,” he said.
Van Praagh expects the speakers at the 16th forum will present evidence justifying why the Trump administration must continue Biden’s financial and military support for Ukraine, arguing that the security of democracies around the globe depends on it.
He said he’s pleased former Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen will deliver a speech Saturday, which is expected to emphasize how U.S. support for Ukraine is crucial to the security of her country and its democracy.
Tsai left office in May. During her two terms in office she came under frequent attack from China for her refusal to recognize Beijing’s claim of sovereignty over the island.
Van Praagh said the politician — who remains an influential figure in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party — is expected to describe how the threat from China isn’t isolated from the conflict in Central Europe. “All of these things are connected. Ukrainian security is connected with security in eastern Asia,” he said.
Van Praagh said he hopes speakers at the forum help to influence members of the U.S. congressional delegation on the importance of backing Taiwan and Ukraine.
In 2016, former Republican Sen. John McCain was a prominent and influential figure in Washington, and he regularly attended the Halifax security forum — bringing the ideas he heard back to the Senate. An award has been given out in his name at the forum each year since he died in 2018.
This year, two Republican senators, James Risch of Idaho — who may chair the influential foreign relations committee after Trump takes office — and Mike Rounds from South Dakota are attending as part of the U.S. congressional delegation, along with four Democratic Party senators.
“These guys not only have a say, they have a vote,” said Van Praagh.
Risch will be a speaker at the opening session of the conference on Friday, along with Democratic Party Sen. Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire, as they discuss America’s role in the world. The opening day will also hear from Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly, who will sit on a panel titled “Victory in Ukraine” alongside Rounds.
Other invited guests include Gen. Jennie Carignan, head of the Canadian Armed Forces, who will sit on a panel with U.S. Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific command, and Andrew Shearer, director of Australia’s Office of National Intelligence, on Saturday.
Many of the events over the forum’s three days, including a plenary session on threats to the Canadian Arctic from Russia and China, tie back to the conflict in Ukraine, and to whether Western democracies should continue to back the country.
“Should we succeed in Ukraine and push Russia out of Ukraine, every other international challenge becomes easier,” Van Praagh said. “If Russia succeeds, everything becomes more difficult.”
“The alternative is chaos and more war.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.
HALIFAX – It will be the luck of the draw that chooses the next councillor for a district in northern Cape Breton after two candidates earned the same number of votes in a recent municipal election.
Amy MacKinnon and Wanda Hennick both received 145 votes on Oct. 19 in the district that includes the Victoria County communities of Dingwall, Aspy Bay and Bay St. Lawrence. To break the tie, the winner will be chosen on Friday by random draw — a selection process stipulated in the Nova Scotia Municipal Elections Act.
Hennick said the voting results were a “shock” to everyone in the district. The random draw is undemocratic, she said, and makes some people in her district feel like their votes won’t count. The winner should be determined in a byelection, she added.
“I’m not happy about it,” she said in an interview. “We owe our constituents an actual election. They didn’t vote to have someone’s name pulled out of a box. If that was the case, why didn’t they do that from the beginning? They feel like their votes were taken from them.”
MacKinnon couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
Each province has its own rules about what to do if a municipal election ends in a tie. Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick follow the same procedure as Nova Scotia. In Prince Edward Island, a coin-flip determines the winner, while in Ontario, the deciding vote is cast by the returning officer.
Blair Gallop, Victoria County’s returning officer, says the Oct. 19 election isn’t the only time a tie has been recorded in Nova Scotia municipal politics; in 1979, Harvey Lewis became mayor of Louisbourg after his name was picked from a hat.
Hennick said she will travel to Sydney, N.S., for the recount, though she initially thought about boycotting it. Regardless of Friday’s outcome, she thinks her district will be in good hands.
“It’s 50-50. We’re both strong women in this district and we do a lot for our community here, so I feel confident if I don’t get (elected), the district is going to be looked after very well with Amy. If I win, then perfect.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.
