Ottawa announced a national freeze on the sale, purchase and transfer of handguns on Friday. It comes into effect immediately.
Posted at 8:30 a.m.
In May, the Liberal government announced a plan to implement such a national freeze to help crack down on gun violence.
But as Bill C-21 continues to be debated in Parliament, “immediate action is being taken through regulations due to the urgency of the situation in Canada,” Prime Minister Justin’s office said. Trudeau by press release.
The nationwide freeze announced Friday “will prevent people from bringing newly acquired handguns into the country and will immediately restrict the buying, selling and transferring of handguns in Canada.”
“Requests submitted by October 21, 2022 to buy, sell or transfer a handgun in Canada will continue to be processed,” it said.
The import freeze on handguns, which came into effect in August, remains in place.
The government argues that capping the number of handguns in Canada will make the country safer, noting that they were the category of weapon most represented in most violent gun-related crime between 2009 and 2020.
Companies may, however, continue to sell weapons to certain exempt persons, including snipers who participate or train at events recognized by the international Olympic or Paralympic committees.
More details to come.
With The Canadian Press