OTTAWA —
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced the federal government is immediately placing a ban on 1,500 models and variants of certain assault-style weapons that have been used in mass shootings in Canada and abroad.
“Effective immediately, it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons in this country,” Trudeau said.
The prime minister described the sweeping regulations as “closing the market” on these weapons in Canada.
The government will be offering current owners of these guns the ability to either grandfather in their ownerships, or the ability to be compensated through a buyback program, though the details of both options have yet to be outlined.
The prime minister spoke about how every Canadian can remember the day they realized how “a man with a gun could irrevocably alter our lives for the worse.”
Citing a list of mass shootings in Canada, Trudeau said they “shape our identity” and “stain our conscience,” and are happening more and more often.
The prime minister diverted from his usual daily COVID-19 updates to make the announcement alongside Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Justice Minister David Lametti, and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on Parliament Hill.
The ban includes guns that have been used in past Canadian shootings, such as:
the Ruger Mini-14 that was used in the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal in 1989, and which the government estimates there are 16,860 currently in circulation in Canada;
the M14 semi-automatic that was used in the 2014 Moncton shooting, which the government estimates there are 5,230 in Canada;
the Beretta CX4 Storm that was used in the Dawson College shooting, which the government estimates there are approximately 1,510 currently in circulation; and
the CSA-VZ-58 that the gunman attempted to use in the Quebec mosque shooting, which the government says there are 11,590 in Canada.
Another one of the firearms on Canada’s list of federally prohibited weapons is the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which was used by the gunman who killed 50 people at a Christchurch, New Zealand mosque in 2019, as well as in other mass shootings in the United States including the Sandy Hook and Las Vegas massacres. A handful of similar models are also on the list, as well as guns with muzzle energy exceeding 10,000 joules and those with calibres exceeding 20 millimetres, such as grenade launchers.
Less than a month after the 2019 Christchurch attack, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her government outlawed most automatic and semi-automatic weapons as well as components to modify existing weapons. Trudeau was scheduled to speak with Ardern on Friday.
2-YEAR AMNESTY, WITH CONDITIONS
Blair, a former police chief, has been stickhandling the federal government’s gun policy and he said that “from this moment forward, the number of these guns will only decrease in Canada.”
Noting that the “vast majority” of gun owners use them safely and lawfully, the government is putting in place a two-year amnesty period to protect those with these guns from criminal liability until they can take steps to comply with the new rules.
Specifically, Lametti said that there will be an amnesty order put into the Criminal Code effective Friday and lasting until April 30, 2022 for Canadians who currently lawfully own these newly prohibited firearms, giving them “a reasonable timeframe to come into compliance.”
During this time they can be legally exported with a valid permit, and business owners can return them to their manufacturer.
However, any current owners cannot use these guns any longer in the interim, nor can these firearms be imported or sold to individuals in Canada. These guns need to be safely stored, only transferred or transported for the purpose of deactivation or surrendering the gun to police if the owner seeks to do so before the buyback program is in place, Lametti said.
The justice minister said there will be an exception for Indigenous peoples exercising a hunting record under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, which recognizes Indigenous rights; as well as an exception for people who use one of the now-banned guns to hunt to feed themselves or their families, until they can acquire a “suitable replacement.’
“We are asking that no one attempt to surrender their firearm while social distancing because of COVID-19 is being practiced… At the end of the amnesty period, all firearm owners will have to be in compliance with the prohibition,” Lametti said.
The move has been cabinet-approved and the reclassification of these weapons can be done through an order-in-council rather than legislation, though future gun control measures are expected to be introduced.
‘MORE THAN THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS’
In the wake of the mass shooting that killed 22 people in Nova Scotia earlier this month, Trudeau had said he intended on pushing ahead with the Liberal election promise of banning military-style assault weapons.
Referencing this month’s Nova Scotia rampage, Trudeau said the victims’ families “deserve more than thoughts and prayers.”
“This chapter in our history cannot be rewritten, but what happens next is up to us. We can stick to thoughts and prayers alone, or we can unite as a country and put an end to this,” Trudeau said on Friday.
On Friday, Trudeau restated his position that guns designed to kill the most people in the shortest amount of time have no place in Canada.
He has previously said that the federal government was “on the verge” of moving ahead on gun control legislation before the pandemic caused Parliament to suspend.
LEGISLATION COMING, TORIES BALK
Expected in future legislation is a buyback program for military-style assault rifles purchased legally in Canada, tougher safe-storage laws, and strengthened penalties for smuggling guns into Canada. The government has also committed to crack down on handguns.
Blair said that the federal government is also going to bring in “red flag laws” allowing law enforcement to remove firearms from dangerous situations.
In the last Parliament, the Liberals made changes to the rules related to firearm ownership, including broadening background checks for gun owners, toughening rules around the transportation of handguns, and increasing record-keeping requirements for the sale of firearms. It also repealed changes made by the previous Conservative government and the federal Tories have vowed to reverse these changes.
Trudeau called Friday’s announcement the “next step” in their gun control policy, and said he’s already spoke with other party leaders about future legislation.
In a statement reacting to the announcement, outgoing Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer accused Trudeau of “using the current pandemic and the immediate emotion of the horrific attack in Nova Scotia to push the Liberals’ ideological agenda and make major firearms policy changes. That is wrong.”
Scheer criticized Trudeau for not waiting until the House of Commons resumes full sittings to take up this debate.
“Taking firearms away from law-abiding citizens does nothing to stop dangerous criminals who obtain their guns illegally. The reality is, the vast majority of gun crimes are committed with illegally obtained firearms. Nothing the Trudeau Liberals announced today addresses this problem,” Scheer said in the statement.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
