The Trudeau government plans to use Bill C-21, the “gun grab bill,” to eliminate handguns in Canada within the next 50 years, according to testimony to the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veteran Affairs.Senator Hassan Yussuff (ON), Independent Senators Group, asked for clarification on what happens when someone tries to transfer a handgun from one generation to the next after the person dies.“Transferring, especially in the context where someone may die? What if it's an heirloom in the family? It's been in the family for generations. They want to keep it. How do we adjust for that?” asked Yussuff. “Because this is a reality that's come up time and time again in the conversation regarding legislation. So I'm asking you because I think it seems to be a gap, but maybe you have some resolve and answers that might help me understand this?”Talal Dakalbab, assistant deputy minister of Crime Prevention Branch, responded to Yussuff.“Just to be clear, the handgun provisions that are in the bill have come into force through regulations right now, so they're already in application. And prior to that, Canada had a very strong regulatory framework with handguns,” replied Dakalbab. “So, for somebody who is deceased, they will have some options. First of all, they could render the handgun inoperable and keep it if it has an emotional meaning for the family. For example, they could send it to an authorized business or person who is authorized to own and purchase a handgun. The third element is that it can be exported, which is a complex process, so I don't talk about it a lot.”“But our regulations in the past allows the firearm officers to know exactly who has handguns. And this way, there will be a possible tracing of what happens when somebody is deceased,” said Dakalbab.“And a follow-up to ensure that either it's rendered to the police or rendered inoperable or sold to a proper industry. So, there is really already in place from the past. Not only with this bill are the regulations that came into force last year, a very good framework to monitor.”Yussuff interrupted Dakalbab to ask his question again.“So my follow-up would be, what if the family wants to transfer that to an already licenced family member?” asked Yussuff.“It's not allowed anymore,” replied Dakalbab.“The station did not take that into consideration that you could transfer that to a family member?” asked Yussuff.“This is a future if you wish, like in a few years, Canada’s guns, when we did the assessment and advice, we set about 50 years if you wish, for sure, handguns will be pretty much eliminated,” replied Dakalbab.“We have around 1.1 million handguns in Canada right now. And in the last 10 years, there was an increase of almost 50% of handguns in Canada. It was a huge increase that we were observing. So no, there will be no transfers and right now, as it stands, transfers are not allowed anymore.”
