Federal Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino says his government does not want to attack farmers and hunters who own guns in its latest bill on the issue. And he accuses conservatives of spreading “disinformation” by claiming otherwise. However, the Minister is unable to explain why two broad amendments were tabled at the very end of parliamentary study, without examination or detailed explanations aimed at clarifying their content.
Gun owners’ associations and elected Conservatives have been accusing the Liberals for the past week of wanting to ban an array of semi-automatic weapons through last-minute amendments to Bill C-21. The two amendments, presented by Liberal Paul Chiang, propose changing the definition of “prohibited weapons” and then placing a list of hundreds of brands and models of weapons in 300 pages , which would henceforth be prohibited.
“I want to be clear: the government is not targeting hunters, farmers, gun owners who respect the law,” repeated Minister Mendicino, in an interview with the To have to, Wednesday. “We are targeting assault weapons, which have no place in our communities,” he said.
The Minister acknowledges that the two amendments to his Bill C-21 contain terminology and “very technical issues”.
“But it doesn’t help the situation when the Conservatives are squabbling. It does not help the situation when the Conservatives create delays. And it does not help the situation when the Conservatives contribute to misinformation to instill fear among hunters,” the minister proclaimed over the phone.
However, since the interpretation of the two amendments seems to cause so much confusion, would it not have been preferable to present them earlier to the parliamentary committee, in order to hear experts explain them? Minister Mendicino does not come forward. Rather, he argues that the amendments were tabled “independently” by his Liberal colleague and that the parliamentary committee must continue its work.
He further notes that he had indicated, when his bill was introduced, that he intended to include a definition and a permanent classification system for so-called “assault type” firearms. . This list of weapons is usually established by regulation. “It is important to put the administrative instrument in the Criminal Code, so that it will be more difficult for a future government to withdraw it”, affirms the minister.
It’s “undemocratic”
The Canadian Coalition for Gun Rights is among those who strongly oppose the amendments unveiled 10 days ago. Its vice-president, Tracey Wilson, accuses the Liberal government of having “circumvented democracy” by presenting two important amendments during clause-by-clause study, which is the last stage of study in parliamentary committee.
“No one was able to comment on this amendment proposing a broad ban on hunting weapons, launched Mr.me Wilson at a press conference in parliament. It is a mockery of our legislative system, and it does nothing for public safety. »
The elected Conservatives are just as unhappy. Chief Pierre Poilievre criticized the government for going after hunters and farmers rather than “real violent criminals”.
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba also opposed it, through a joint press release.
The study in parliamentary committee has been blocked since last Thursday, the Conservative MPs leading dilatory measures to challenge the amendments.
Minister Mendicino believes that it is the very subject of his bill that arouses passions, more than the amendments. “The misinformation is not caused by the amendment. Disinformation existed before, and unfortunately it will exist after. »
The government wanted to include and improve the definition of prohibited weapons in the law, as well as add new models of weapons to those prohibited by decree in May 2020 to take into account the weapons used during recent tragedies, explains Minister Mendicino .
Tracey Wilson insists that many models, commonly used by hunters and farmers, would now be prohibited by the amendments, because they are too vaguely worded by “encompassing” models “that can fire” a projectile with a muzzle energy of more than 10,000 joules, or a semi-automatic rifle or shotgun “that can fire” centerfire ammunition and accept a detachable magazine with a capacity of more than five rounds.
Bill C-21, in its original form, was most talked about for freezing the sale, purchase and importation of handguns.