New federal gun controls “may reduce the number of firearms some hunters use,” admits a federal briefing note to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. It claimed hunters will have to find alternatives..“We recognize the proposed changes may reduce the number of firearms some hunters use today,” said the note Comprehensive Prohibition Of Assault Style Firearms. “However, over 19,000 non-restricted semi automatic rifles and shotguns would remain available for Canadians to use. Our government will continue to work to find the right balance for this bill.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, Bill C-21 An Act To Amend Certain Acts introduced in the House of Commons last May 30 proposes to codify a federal ban on new sales of licensed handguns in Canada. Cabinet last November 24 introduced amendments to ban use of any “firearm that is a rifle or shotgun that is capable of discharging centre fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner.”.“We are not targeting hunters and those who use firearms to sustain themselves or their families,” said the briefing note. “We are targeting firearms with sustained rapid-fire capability that can inflict significant harm to Canadians.”.The note by public safety department staff is dated December 13, one day after the Commons public safety committee blocked passage of Bill C-21 pending public hearings this spring. “I do think it’s offensive,” Conservative MP Raquel Dancho (Kildonan-St. Paul, MB) told the committee. The proposed amendments were so broad they would ban lever action rifles, she said..“We’re talking classic wood stock hunting rifles that are being used that will be banned by this,” said Dancho. “That’s really the problem we’re coming down to. I don’t necessarily see a path forward.”.Opposition New Democrat and Bloc Québécois MPs joined Conservatives in slowing passage of the bill. “We are not going to clean up the mess the Liberals have made of this bill,” New Democrat MP Taylor Bachrach (Skeena-Bulkley Valley, BC) earlier told the Commons..“People feel hoodwinked by these last-minute amendments,” aid Bachrach. “This was meant to be a bill about limiting handguns and protecting victims of domestic violence but now the Liberals are going after the tools that my neighbours use for hunting, predator control and back country safety.”.Opposition members proposed the public safety committee conduct at least eight public hearings on the bill including sessions in “rural, northern and indigenous communities to hear from impacted individuals.” No funding for committee travel can be approved until the start of the new fiscal year on April 1..“We are out of time,” Liberal MP Ron McKinnon (Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, BC), chair of the committee, earlier told MPs. “As a practical matter we probably can’t travel until at least April,” he said.
New federal gun controls “may reduce the number of firearms some hunters use,” admits a federal briefing note to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. It claimed hunters will have to find alternatives..“We recognize the proposed changes may reduce the number of firearms some hunters use today,” said the note Comprehensive Prohibition Of Assault Style Firearms. “However, over 19,000 non-restricted semi automatic rifles and shotguns would remain available for Canadians to use. Our government will continue to work to find the right balance for this bill.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, Bill C-21 An Act To Amend Certain Acts introduced in the House of Commons last May 30 proposes to codify a federal ban on new sales of licensed handguns in Canada. Cabinet last November 24 introduced amendments to ban use of any “firearm that is a rifle or shotgun that is capable of discharging centre fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner.”.“We are not targeting hunters and those who use firearms to sustain themselves or their families,” said the briefing note. “We are targeting firearms with sustained rapid-fire capability that can inflict significant harm to Canadians.”.The note by public safety department staff is dated December 13, one day after the Commons public safety committee blocked passage of Bill C-21 pending public hearings this spring. “I do think it’s offensive,” Conservative MP Raquel Dancho (Kildonan-St. Paul, MB) told the committee. The proposed amendments were so broad they would ban lever action rifles, she said..“We’re talking classic wood stock hunting rifles that are being used that will be banned by this,” said Dancho. “That’s really the problem we’re coming down to. I don’t necessarily see a path forward.”.Opposition New Democrat and Bloc Québécois MPs joined Conservatives in slowing passage of the bill. “We are not going to clean up the mess the Liberals have made of this bill,” New Democrat MP Taylor Bachrach (Skeena-Bulkley Valley, BC) earlier told the Commons..“People feel hoodwinked by these last-minute amendments,” aid Bachrach. “This was meant to be a bill about limiting handguns and protecting victims of domestic violence but now the Liberals are going after the tools that my neighbours use for hunting, predator control and back country safety.”.Opposition members proposed the public safety committee conduct at least eight public hearings on the bill including sessions in “rural, northern and indigenous communities to hear from impacted individuals.” No funding for committee travel can be approved until the start of the new fiscal year on April 1..“We are out of time,” Liberal MP Ron McKinnon (Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, BC), chair of the committee, earlier told MPs. “As a practical matter we probably can’t travel until at least April,” he said.
