A prominent gun control group is concerned the Liberal government may have abandoned its pledge to enact a total ban on assault-style firearms, citing a “lack of concrete progress” on key measures to fulfil the pledge.
In an open letter to Public Security Minister Dominic Leblanc, Polisesovient spokesperson Nathalie Provost expressed concern that “we will not see these measures come to fruition in our lifetime” as the clock ticks towards a federal election that must be held by October next year.
Provost, a survivor of the 1989 mass shooting at Montreal’s École Polytechnique, wrote that years of squandered public support and a record of squandered opportunities will be a “devastating legacy” for the Liberal party.
The group wants the federal government to move forward with a plan to push for a buyback of banned assault-style firearms, including AR-15s, ban other weapons that have slipped through the legislative net, and tighten regulations on high-capacity magazines.
“We continue to take strong steps to address gun violence,” LeBlanc’s office said in a statement to The Canadian Press.
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The letter from PolySeSouvient comes about a week after the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump using what was believed to be an AR-15 style rifle.
Late last year, Parliament passed a government bill aimed at tightening handgun regulations, increasing penalties for firearms trafficking and curbing homemade ghost guns.
The bill also includes a ban on assault-type firearms that fall under a new technical definition.
PolySeSouvient warned that the potential benefits of most of the key measures for public safety will depend on upcoming regulations that will flesh out the details.
Groups criticize lack of progress
Conservative lawmakers and some gun owners have vehemently opposed the Liberal ban on certain firearms, calling it an attack on law-abiding citizens.
LeBlanc said the government will re-establish the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee to independently review the classification of existing models that fall under the new definition of firearms banned in the bill.
He told senators in October that the effort would identify guns that are legally used for hunting and exempt them from the ban.
Canada Post says it no longer wants to participate in the federal government’s firearms buyback program, which currently requires banned weapons to be brought into post offices, citing safety concerns.
LeBlanc said the government will also implement a long-term planned buyback of firearm models and variants such as the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14 that were already banned by cabinet order in May 2020.
He also said the government would put in place regulations to ensure a total ban on high-capacity magazines.
Polisesoviento said tens of thousands of assault-style guns banned in 2020 remain in the hands of their owners, while hundreds of models that were arbitrarily exempt remain legal and new guns continue to flood into the market.
Despite the federal government’s promises and commitments, PolySeSouvient said there has been “no concrete progress” on:
- The reinstatement of an advisory committee to decide which current models should be banned.
- Planned share repurchase program.
- Consultation on introducing a pre-approval process to ensure new firearm models are properly classified.
- Or discussions on strengthening magazine regulation.
Given the delays, “we are beginning to suspect that the Liberal government is either incapable of delivering on its nine-year-old promise to ban assault weapons or has abandoned that promise for fear of further incurring the ire of the gun lobby,” the letter said.
LeBlanc’s office said in a statement that the administration is committed to putting in place a program to pay fair compensation to current owners of assault-style firearms.
