(Ottawa) A leading gun control group is concerned the Liberal government is abandoning its commitment to enact a complete ban on assault-style firearms, citing no tangible progress on key steps to fulfill that pledge.
In an open letter addressed to the Minister of Public Security, Dominic LeBlanc, PolySeSouvient spokesperson Nathalie Provost expresses concern that they will not see these measures come to fruition in their lifetime, given that time is running out and federal elections must be held by October 2025.
A record of squandering public support and wasting opportunities over the years would be a “devastating legacy” for the Liberals, M wrote.me Provost, a survivor of the 1989 anti-feminist attack at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Nathalie Provost, spokesperson for PolySeSouvient
The group wants the government to follow through on plans to buy back banned assault-style firearms, including the AR-15, ban those that have slipped through the cracks of the law and tighten regulations on high-capacity magazines.
The office of Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement to The Canadian Press that it “continues to implement strict measures to combat gun violence.”
PolySeSouvient’s letter comes about a week after an assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump using what was described as an AR-15-style rifle.
Late last year, parliament passed a bill that tightens restrictions on handguns, increases penalties for gun trafficking and aims to combat homemade ghost guns.
The legislation also included a ban on assault-style firearms, which fall under a new technical definition.
PolySeSouvient cautioned that the potential benefits of most key public safety measures would depend on upcoming regulations, which will spell out the details.
Conservative MPs and some gun owners have vehemently opposed Liberal efforts to ban certain firearms, seeing them as an attack on law-abiding citizens.
Mr. LeBlanc said the government would re-establish the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee to independently review the classification of existing models that fall under the new definition of a prohibited firearm in the bill.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety
He told senators in October that the exercise would help identify weapons legitimately used for hunting, which would be excluded from the ban.
The public safety minister said the government would also implement a buyback of firearm models and variants, including the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14, which were already banned by executive order in May 2020.
In addition, the government announced that it would enact regulations ensuring a complete ban on high-capacity magazines.
PolySeSouvient claims that tens of thousands of assault weapons banned in 2020 remain in the hands of their owners, while hundreds of arbitrarily exempted models remain legal and new ones continue to hit the market.
Despite federal promises and commitments, PolySeSouvient maintains that there has been “no tangible progress” on the revival of the advisory committee that will decide which current models should be banned, the planned buyback program, consultations on the introduction of a pre-authorization process for new firearm models to ensure they are properly classified and consultations on strengthening regulations on magazines.
Given the delays, the letter says, “we are beginning to suspect that either the Liberal government is not competent enough to deliver on its nine-year promises to ban assault weapons, or that it has backed away from its commitment to do so because it fears further angering the gun lobby.”
In its statement, Mr. LeBlanc’s office reiterated that the government was committed to establishing a program that would provide current owners with fair compensation for their assault-style firearms.