Federal government to withdraw amendment to gun bill: Report

The federal government is withdrawing an amendment to its gun bill that had caused a lot of concern in Saskatchewan.

According to The Canadian Press, the Liberals decided to pull the amendment that would have added some models of hunting rifles and shotguns to the list of guns that would have been prohibited in Canada.

The amendment caused an outcry in many parts of rural Canada, and the Liberals have been under pressure from many of their own MPs to change or withdraw the new definition of weapons being banned.

In response to the federal legislation, the provincial government on Dec. 1 introduced The Saskatchewan Firearms Act, which the government said was designed “to protect the rights of lawful firearms owners.”

“This Act will help address concerns of responsible firearms owners and enhance public safety across Saskatchewan,” Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell said in a media release that day.

“We take public safety seriously and support initiatives that reduce the criminal use of firearms, while preventing gang violence and stopping illegal guns from entering our province.”

On Nov. 24, the Saskatchewan government joined its counterparts in Alberta and Manitoba to protest the feds’ proposed amendments to Bill C-21.

MPs on the public safety committee unanimously agreed to the Liberal motion to withdraw the amendment. Liberal MP Pam Damoff said that’s a sign of cross-partisan co-operation.

“This is a big step forward,” she told reporters. “I think we need to be listening to each other. I hope Canadians are heartened listening to the conversations around this table where all four parties are agreeing to work together and co-operate.”

Bill C-21 was introduced in May and aims to limit gun access for people who pose a danger to themselves or others, and expand measures affecting the government’s regulated ban on handguns.

NDP MP Alistair MacGregor said the proposed amendment had stymied the public safety committee’s ability to get its work done.

“Amendment G-4 and G-46 had really derailed any kind of progress that we could have made on C-21,” he told reporters. “I’ve never seen such a groundswell of opposition come really from everywhere all at once.”

Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, joined Gormley on Friday to share his thoughts on the reversal.

“(Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) backed down because of massive pressure that Conservatives provoked among Indigenous people, farmers and other law-abiding hunters, but make no mistake, his agenda — his radical agenda — is to ban hunting rifles across Canada altogether,” Poilievre said.

But even with the controversial amendment removed, Polievre said that doesn’t mean new restrictions on gun ownership won’t be coming to Canada.

“The original list of firearms that Trudeau banned under his order-in-council cabinet decision a few years ago is still banned, and they still plan to pass a bill that will ban numerous other tools,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre said the Trudeau government could still add a new list of banned weapons to the bill, and that’s what he suspects will happen.

The Conservative leader also criticized the Liberal government’s legislation restricting handgun sales and ownership, saying it “misses the target” as many of the weapons involved in gun crime are smuggled into Canada and not legally owned.

“What (Trudeau) should do is take the billions of dollars he’s going to have to spend to buy back these firearms and put that into bolstering the border to keep the illegal guns from coming into the country from the U.S., and we should put the repeat violent offenders who are smuggling and shooting up our streets behind bars,” Poilievre said.

Asked if a federal election could be coming in 2023, Poilievre said it’s possible but unlikely due to the confidence agreement between the Liberals and NDP.

— With files from The Canadian Press