Trudeau government would allow municipalities to ban handguns under new bill

Newly tabled gun legislation would allow municipalities to ban handguns through bylaws restricting their possession, storage, and transportation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says today the measures will be backed up with serious penalties to enforce these bylaws, including jail time for people who violate municipal rules.

“We will move forward with a buyback program in the coming months and complete the prohibition to ensure these weapons cannot be legally used, transferred, transported, bequeathed, or sold,” the Prime Minister said.

“Getting these weapons off our streets and out of the hands of criminals means less violence.”

Many gun-control advocates have pressed for a national handgun ban, warning that leaving it up to municipalities would create an ineffective patchwork of regulations.

As expected, the long-promised bill also proposes a buyback of a wide array of recently banned firearms the government considers assault-style weapons.

It’s a voluntary program, but Public Safety Minister Bill Blair told a news conference that anyone deciding to keep the weapons won’t be able to legally use, transport, sell, transfer or bequeath them.

“Under our legislation, current owners of these weapons will be required to comply with strict new regulations which will effectively eliminate all legal use of these firearms,” Blair said Tuesday.

The Prime Minister announces new gun restriction measures today, which will allow municipalities to ban handguns in their jurisdiction. Also a gun buy back program in the coming months & increase criminal penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking #cdnpoli

— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) February 16, 2021

The bill would also increase criminal penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking, and enhance the capacity of police and border officers to keep illegal firearms out of the country.

It would also create new offences for altering the cartridge magazine of a firearm and introduce tighter restrictions on importing ammunition.

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says the proposed law doesn’t adequately deal with the rampant use of illegal firearms.

“I think Mr. Trudeau misleads people when he tries to suggest that buying things back from hunters and other Canadians who are law-abiding is somehow going to solve the problem of shooting and criminal and gang activity in the big cities,” O’Toole said.

“It’s ignoring the real problem.”

Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns (CDPG) is welcoming the introduction of new gun control legislation.

“This is a comprehensive bill that, if enacted, will save lives,” said Dr. Najma Ahmed, co-Chair of CDPG and trauma surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. “In particular, there are several less high-profile measures that mark important progress in the effort to change the culture on guns in Canada.”

The federal conservatives and firearms rights groups have opposed the gun ban and the buyback saying they punish legal gun owners and don’t do enough to battle the flow of illegal guns entering the country.

Doctors and other health care workers are close witnesses to the damage guns do – physically and psychologically – to their patients,” said Dr. Paola Fata, CDPG member and Director, Division of General Surgery​, McGill University Health Center in Montreal.

“The evidence is clear: restricting access to these weapons will reduce injury and death.”