OTTAWA, Ont. — Canada has banned what the government is calling military-style assault weapons.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday that more than 1,500 makes and models of firearms will be banned effective immediately. The Liberals have long planned to ban military-style assault weapons — it was one of their key 2019 campaign promises — but calls on the federal government to act increased in recent weeks in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Nova Scotia on April 18 and 19 that left 22 dead in the worst mass shooting in Canada’s history.
While details of the weapons used by the shooter have not been made public, police say one of the weapons used could be described that way. Others described a long-barrelled gun and a shotgun. He did not have a firearms licence.
“Every one of us remembers the day when we realized that in Canada, a man with a gun could irrevocably alter our lives for the worse,” Trudeau said, citing past tragedies like Ecole Polytechnique, the Quebec City mosque shooting and the Nova Scotia shooting.
“This chapter in our history cannot be rewritten, but what will happen next is up to us,” Trudeau said.
“We can stick to thoughts and prayers alone or we can unite as a country and put an end to this.”
What's newly banned
With Friday’s announcement, what the government is calling military-style assault weapons are banned and cannot be used, bought, sold, lent, imported or transported.
Fully automatic weapons are already outlawed in Canada, but Friday’s ban includes nine principal models of semi-automatic rifle, including the AR-15, which has been used in a number of U.S. mass shootings, M16, M4 and AR-10, as well as their component part known as the “upper receiver. It also bans the Ruger Mini-14 rifle, which is the style of gun used in the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989.
Also banned are “firearms with a bore 20mm or greater” (e.g., grenade launchers) and “firearms capable of discharging a projectile with a muzzle energy greater than 10,000 Joules” (e.g. sniper rifles) as well as current and future variants.
A list of 1,500 newly-banned weapons is now available here, but the government says all current and future variants of these listed guns are prohibited, whether listed or not.
A technical briefing on the ban says the models were chosen based on the following criteria: semi-automatic action with sustained rapid-fire capability (tactical/military design with large magazine capacity), modern design and being present in large volumes in the Canadian market.
“As of today the market for assault weapons in Canada is closed. Enough is enough,” Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair said. “From this moment forward the number of these guns will only decrease in Canada.”
Exceptions and disposal
There are a number of notable exceptions to the ban. There will be a two-year amnesty period written into Canada’s Criminal Code, until April 30, 2022, to give legal owners of these varieties of firearms time to come into compliance with the new laws — but even during the amnesty period these weapons cannot be used and must be stored safely. Trudeau said the government will legislate fair compensation via a buyback program for law-abiding gun owners. Technical briefing documents say the government intends to offer owners the choice of either grandfathering or compensation if they surrender the firearm.
In addition, the now-banned varieties of firearms can be exported outside of Canada with the proper permits, and can only be transported for the purpose of deactivation, returning to their rightful owner, exporting with a valid permit or surrendering to police (only by appointment). Gun vendors are also allowed to send them back to the manufacturer.
There are exceptions under the amnesty for Indigenous peoples exercising Aboriginal or treaty rights to hunt, and for those who hunt or trap to sustain themselves or their families. These exceptions will allow for the continued use of newly prohibited guns in limited circumstances, but only until a suitable replacement can be found.
By the end of the amnesty period, all firearms owners must comply with the ban.
“You don’t need an AR-15 to bring down a deer,” Trudeau said.
Blair noted that the overwhelming majority of gun owners in Canada are law-abiding, conscientious and safe, and obtained their firearms legally.
While some say assault weapons may have recreational value, Blair said, all varieties of guns being banned by the government were designed solely for the purpose of killing the most people in the shortest period of time, and have been used in Canada and other countries a number of times for exactly that purpose.
“These guns have no legitimate civilian purpose,” Blair said. “They don't belong in our communities.”
The ban does not require legislation to be put in place, but other legislation will be required for related items like a buyback program.
Blair pledged to introduce further gun legislation in the future, including strengthening storage laws, additional laws targeting gun trafficking and smuggling, controlling ammunition and magazine capacities as well as “red-flag laws” that allow law enforcement to remove firearms from dangerous situations.
Conservative reaction
While Trudeau said he is confident he will have the support of the opposition parties in passing legislation related to the ban, a statement from Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer released Friday afternoon implied otherwise.
“Justin Trudeau is 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 said.
“The Trudeau Liberals have made it clear throughout this crisis that they do not respect the democratic role of Parliament. That cannot continue. If the prime minister has the strength of his convictions, he should wait until the health crisis has passed and introduce legislation in the House of Commons, so that it can be debated, and Canadians’ voices can be heard.”
Trudeau is using the current pandemic and the horrific attack in Nova Scotia to push his ideological agenda and make major firearms policy changes. That is wrong. The majority of gun crimes are committed with illegally obtained firearms. Nothing he announced addresses this. pic.twitter.com/iolFcLWjwZ
— Andrew Scheer (@AndrewScheer) May 1, 2020
An Angus Reid poll released Friday shows an overwhelming majority — 78 per cent — of Canadians support a complete prohibition on civilian possession of assault weapons.
MacKay's reaction
Conservative leadership hopeful and former Nova Scotia MP Peter MacKay also weighed in on the ban Friday, releasing a video to social media calling the federal government's timing “crass and beyond the pale.” In the video, MacKay criticizes Trudeau for using Nova Scotia's tragedy to “punish law-abiding firearms owners across Canada” instead of making changes that would stop criminals like tightening up U.S. border security and stopping the flow of illegal guns.
As a Nova Scotian, I am outraged that Justin Trudeau is using our tragedy to punish law-abiding firearms owners across Canada.
— Peter MacKay (@PeterMacKay) May 1, 2020
As Prime Minister, I can guarantee to all Canadians that I will never take advantage of a tragedy like this to push a political agenda. pic.twitter.com/pWDAv4TiwN
He then says if elected Prime Minister he would never take advantage of a tragedy like this to push a political agenda.
His post garnered much attention on social media with responses ranging from supportive to calling him a hypocrite.
A photo also began circulating on Twitter and Facebook Friday of MacKay wearing a tee-shirt with what appears to be a semi-automatic weapon with the words “no compromise.”
A Huffington Post article from 2014 says the shirt was given to him during a Conservative fundraising event in Edmonton for a photo op by Canada's National Firearms Association, a gun lobby group, as part of their campaign to repeal Canada's firearms laws and legalize the possession of all semi-automatic weapons.
A spokesperson from MacKay’s campaign did not comment on the shirt but said MacKay has been a long time supporter of the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
