The Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) has initiated a legal challenge against the federal government for its handgun sales ban. .“The Supreme Court is clear on the issue of property confiscation,” said CSSA Executive Director Tony Bernardo in a Monday press release. .“Compensation must be paid when government confiscates the lawfully acquired property of private citizens, and this government is attempting to circumvent the Criminal Code and the longstanding Supreme Court precedent.” .The Canadian government's handgun freeze took effect on Oct. 21, barring people from buying, selling transferring, or importing the firearms..READ MORE: UPDATED: National handgun freeze takes effect.People can still own and use their registered handguns and sell or transfer them to exempted individuals or businesses..“Today, we’re keeping more guns out of our communities, and keeping our kids safe,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. .The release said the Canadian government’s proposal affects hundreds of thousands of lawful handgun owners. It warned this could lead to Canadians' property being confiscated without compensation. .Bernardo said the Canadian government is attempting to trample on provincial jurisdiction to avoid paying compensation to handgun owners. He said the government “rendered handguns valueless by freezing the lawful handgun market, then state the only legal recourse is to surrender this property to the government—a clear violation of the laws of succession and vesting of property upon death to a beneficiary.” .The release said the handgun freeze violates Section 7 and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Constitution Act, the Firearms Act, and provincial jurisdiction. .“We will hold the Trudeau Liberal government to account in an impartial court of law for its blatant disregard of the civil rights of ordinary Canadians, its contempt for provincial jurisdiction, ministerial overreach, and its repeated violation of the Firearms Act and its supremacy of law,” said Bernardo. .This lawsuit comes after York Region police called out Trudeau on Thursday for implementing a handgun freeze, saying it will not reduce crime. .READ MORE: Ontario police says 100% of seized guns smuggled from United States.“Out of 107 firearms, 83 of them were successfully traced,” said York Region police Insp. Ahmad Salhia. .“Of those 83 guns that were traced, 100% of them were identified as illicit firearms coming in from the United States and into Canada.”
