(OTTAWA) Gun control advocates are urging the Government of Canada not to allow provinces to take the initiative to ban handguns, saying regional moves will result in a patchwork of standards that are harmful to Canada.
Posted at 6:23 a.m.
In a new letter to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, the signatories instead call for national action to phase out private possession of handguns. In their opinion, leaving the provinces responsible for banning handguns would be a political and legal disaster, but especially in terms of public safety.
The plea follows a promise this week by Ontario Liberal Party Leader Steven Del Duca to ban handguns in his province if he becomes premier after next June’s provincial election.
The April 20 letter to Minister Mendicino was signed by representatives of organizations including the Coalition for Gun Control, PolySeSouvient, the National Association of Women and the Law, Danforth Families for Safe Communities, the Canadian Association of emergency medicine and the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec where six people were killed in a shooting in 2017.
Overall, the signatories call for legislation that will make it extremely difficult, if not politically impossible, to roll back in the opposite direction.
Minister Mendicino’s political entourage has so far made no comment on the letter.
Early last month, the minister said he would soon introduce very proactive gun legislation after an earlier effort, known as Bill C-21, failed when the general elections last year.
The Liberals have promised a mandatory buyout of banned firearms they consider assault weapons, a crackdown on high-capacity firearm magazines and new efforts to crack down on gun smuggling.
The planned buyout would force owners of a wide variety of banned firearms, including the one used in the 1989 Montreal Polytechnic shootings, to resell them to the government or render them unusable at federal expense. .
The proposal was welcomed by gun control advocates but met with disapproval from some gun owners and Conservative Party MPs.
The Liberals also pledged to work with any province or territory that wants to ban handguns and commit at least $1 billion to that effort.
In their letter, the groups say there is little evidence to suggest that giving the provinces responsibility for banning the sale, importation or possession of handguns would have any effect, given that firearms would flow from unregulated jurisdictions to regulated jurisdictions. In their view, giving the provinces the power to ban handguns will lead to endless debate and legal challenges.
The letter urges Minister Mendicino to reject many other elements of Bill C-21, including a provision that would allow a person in danger to apply to a court for an order to remove the firearms from a stalker or an aggressor. The groups argue that it is unrealistic to expect victims to have the means and courage to seek justice as they face the challenges of escaping violence, caring for children and trying to have a normal life.