DR. JAMES McKAY
I am a doctor from a foreign land. I travelled from my home country of New Zealand to Canada to complete further training in trauma and emergency surgery in 2019. Canada is a beautiful country with friendly people. It has a forward-thinking and progressive society, with a publicly funded health-care system — a lot like home. We look to countries like Canada for inspiration and leadership in health and social measures.
Yet, respectfully, there may be one area in which New Zealand could be a guiding light for this country. Recent events in my homeland have highlighted the importance of robust gun control measures.
Although I appreciate the issue can be difficult and polarizing, Canada should follow New Zealand’s lead.
As both a New Zealander and the on-call surgeon at Christchurch Hospital on the day of that city’s mass shooting, I am uncomfortably and intimately familiar with the impact such a devastating event can have on human suffering and the psyche of not only a city, but a nation.
On March 15, 2019 — we just marked a sombre one-year anniversary — a lone gunman entered the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, shooting 100 people during Friday prayers and killing 51 of them; 49 patients presented within 45 minutes to the hospital.
What struck me, outside of the sheer shock and disbelief, was my country’s unified response to this disaster in the days and weeks that followed — a national response of which I am increasingly proud.
The further sale of military-style semiautomatic (MSSA) weapons was suspended, and a commitment made by our prime minister and government to push through a bill under urgency to ban them completely. I was fortunate to be a part of the presentations to a government select committee, and was proud to see an almost unanimous bipartisan vote to approve the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019 on April 10, 2019, only 26 days after the mass shooting event.
In summary, this resulted in a total ban on semiautomatic firearms with high-capacity magazines, and associated detachable parts. Subsequently proposed amendments aim to establish a national firearms register and tighten restrictions of firearms licensing.
Having lived this experience, I am perplexed by the inaction I am witnessing on gun control in Canada. In my short time in my current role, the frequency of firearm-related injuries is not insignificant, and at times, the impact is horrific. It has also not gone unnoticed by me that Canada just marked its own sombre anniversary — three years since the mass shooting at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City — still without as comparatively strong gun-control legislation as New Zealand, or other countries that have suffered similar gun tragedies.
Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns have outlined the massive evidence in support of stronger gun reforms and restrictions, including bans, and lists more than 150 references on its website. It is evident that gun control saves lives, not just from mass shootings, but also homicide, femicide and suicide.
I recall similarities to the debate that unfolded in New Zealand when the ban was proposed. Ultimately though, my country quickly adopted a response that is informed by scientific evidence, a response that will make our society safer by reducing harm from the proliferation of guns.
People touched by gun violence are bonded together by their firsthand experience. As physicians and health-care providers, we, too, are bound by our witness to this suffering. We cannot remain silent.
I urge Canadians — and their government — to act with courage and support stronger legislation on gun control to end unnecessary violence and suffering.
Hopefully, New Zealand’s actions can be an inspiration to you and a catalyst for change.
Dr. James McKay is a general surgeon and intensive care specialist, Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch, New Zealand, and a trauma and acute care surgery fellow at Vancouver General Hospital.
