In a rare public outing, hockey player Carey Price joined a controversial pro-gun lobby in criticizing the Trudeau government’s revamped gun control bill.
“I love my family, I love my country and I take care of my neighbours,” Carey Price said in an Instagram post late Saturday morning. “I am not a criminal or a threat to society,” he adds. That [le premier ministre Justin Trudeau] trying to do is unfair. »
The hockey player attached to his publication a photo of him in camouflage, a hunting weapon in hand. The publication has been “liked” thousands of times, notably by Cole Caufield, young star of the Montreal Canadiens.
The vice-president of communications hockey of the Canadian, Chantal Machabée, however indicated to The Press that the organization did not wish to comment on the file “for the moment”.
In the process, Carey Price also affirmed his support for the Canadian Coalition for Gun Rights. This organization has caused controversy in recent days for having until recently offered discounts thanks to the promotional code “Poly”, referring to the massacre at the Polytechnique de Montréal which killed 14 people – all women – in 1989.
A promotion that made Nathalie Provost, survivor of the massacre, jump. “It’s odious. It’s as if the tragedy of Poly was a farce, ”she was indignant in an interview on Friday.
The Coalition, however, protested that it was not referring to the massacre. According to The Canadian Press, spokeswoman Tracey Wilson said the promo code was meant to be a response to PolySeSouvient’s Twitter account, which allegedly called Coalition supporters armed trolls.
A gesture supported by the Conservative Party
Carey Price’s publication quickly received support from conservatives opposed to the bill. “Carey is absolutely right,” wrote Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), on Twitter. “Hunting is a great Canadian tradition. Trudeau’s attempts to ban shotguns are an attack on rural and indigenous populations. »
A vision shared by Pierre Paul-Hus, political lieutenant of the PCC in Quebec. “Carey Price makes a remarkable outing against the senseless policies of Justin Trudeau, who preys on hunters,” he wrote on Twitter.
On the other hand, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, said he was indignant on the social network. “Carey Price and so many others have been convinced that gun control has the purpose or effect of harming sport hunting,” he tweeted. It’s wrong. the [Bloc québécois] encourages sport hunting and the tourist/economic activity it generates in our regions. »
Remember that the Liberal government is trying these days to have Bill C-21 approved, which aims to restrict access to firearms in Canada.
A law that goes too far, according to the gun lobby
The Gun Rights Coalition this week called on Justin Trudeau’s government to back down, saying it’s the “biggest gun ban in Canadian history.”
According to the latest specifications added to the definition of prohibited firearms, semi-automatic weapons, including shotguns, whose magazine can be modified to hold more than five cartridges will be banned, as will those that can fire projectiles with a muzzle energy of more than 10,000 joules and those with an inner barrel surface of 20 millimeters or more.
SKS rifles, a popular military-style weapon among hunters, could be banned, according to the Canadian Coalition for Gun Rights.
Not a first for Carey Price
This isn’t the first time Carey Price has made a controversial hunting-themed public outing. In 2012, a photo posted on Twitter of him and another hunter with the carcass of a coyote caused reactions, according to SportsNet.
The British Columbian has also already posted a photo on Instagram where, in the background, we could see a flag of the National Association of Firearms, a major pro-gun lobby in Canada that opposes the firearms law adopted in 1995.
Carey Price is not playing this season and the rest of his career is compromised by a knee injury. However, he makes occasional appearances. For example, he was present at the Bell Center for the inaugural game of the season and participated in the annual blood drive for the Canadiens.
With Guillaume Lefrancois, The Press