Gun violence | Ottawa hits handgun imports

The government is bringing forward the entry into force of its Bill C-21 to counter the explosion of arms sales in the country

Melanie Marquis
The Press

Joel-Denis Bellavance
The Press

(Ottawa) Imports of handguns into Canada will be banned in two weeks.

This prohibition was already included in Bill C-21 tabled on May 30 in the House of Commons, but the government has decided to bring it forward.

This is therefore a temporary freeze, which will become permanent once the legislation has been approved by Parliament.

The Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, made this decision while we are witnessing an outbreak of armed violence in Montreal.

If we wanted to move urgently, it is because there was an explosion in arms sales at the same time as Bill C-21 was tabled, we noted.

At a press conference in Toronto, another city plagued by frequent episodes of gun violence, Mr. Mendicino called on the parties to work together to quickly pass Bill C-21.

He also criticized Conservative MPs, accusing them of obstructing the passage of the bill.

The temporary ban means that individuals and businesses will no longer be able to import handguns into Canada, with some exceptions.

The power to decree this ban is in the hands of Minister Joly.

It is she who has the authority to issue import and export permits or not, and she will not grant new ones as of August 19.

“The time has come to prevent firearms from circulating on our streets,” pleaded the MP for Ahuntsic-Cartierville, where a murder was committed earlier this week.

“I am extremely concerned about the situation, and I know that people expect us to do more,” she said on the microphone.

Currently, it is estimated that over one million handguns are in circulation in the country. Over the past decade, some 55,000 of these weapons were registered each year on average, not counting weapons imported and sold illegally.

PolySeSouvient welcomes the announcement

The group PolySeSouvient, which represents survivors and families of victims of gun violence, welcomed the announcement, although it believes that it would have been preferable to impose this temporary freeze as soon as Bill C is tabled. -21, in May.

“We applaud the determination and ingenuity of Ministers Mendicino and Joly in the government’s efforts to curb the exponential growth in the number of handguns in private hands in Canada, until the passage of the bill C-21 and related regulations,” commented Nathalie Provost, a survivor of the 1989 Polytechnique massacre.

However, she said the import ban will not put an end to the purchase of handguns in Canada, since there are still commercial reserves, including stocks that have been able to be replenished after they have run out, and because that the production of arms in Canada can continue.

The Bloc applauds, the Conservative Party skeptical

Bloc Québécois MP Rhéal Fortin also applauds this decision. But he adds that other measures are needed to tackle the scourge of armed violence.

“We welcome the decision, which compensates for the government’s error. He should have, when Bill C-21 was introduced in May, blocked the sale of handguns as we requested because we have seen an explosion in the sale of handguns since then. However, much work remains to be done to combat the epidemic of gun crime. We must continue to tackle organized crime and the illegal importation of firearms, but also [s’occuper des] handguns that are already in circulation with a buy-back program,” said Mr. Fortin.

But the Conservative Party maintains that the Trudeau government is not addressing the real source of the problem. “The vast majority of gun crimes in Canada are attributed to gangs and criminals who use illegal weapons imported from the United States. Today’s announcement will do nothing to stop the influx of illegal handguns, which make up the majority of weapons used in crime and gun violence in Canada.” supported Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus.