Trudeau Says ‘Some’ Guns Used for Hunting Will Be Confiscated by Firearms Bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says “some” guns used for hunting guns will be confiscated by his government’s proposed Firearms Restriction Bill, despite saying in the House of Commons last week that the government was “not interested” in hunting guns to illegalize.
“Our focus now is to say, OK, there are some guns, yes, that we need to take away from the people who used them to hunt,” Trudeau told CTV News in a year-end interview, the full version of which will be released on March 31 Aired December.
“We will also ensure that you can purchase other weapons suitable for hunting from a long list of accepted weapons, whether they are rifles or shotguns. We don’t go hunting in this country. We are attacking some of the weapons used that are too dangerous in other contexts.”
If passed, Bill C-21 will permanently ban 1,500 “assault-style” firearms that were already made illegal by the Liberal government through a Council Decree in May 2020.
Pending legislation was amended in late November to ban an additional 300 to 400 firearms commonly used for hunting. The amendments would make any firearm that can contain a detachable magazine illegal, and would also add an evergreen definition to the Criminal Code to cover what the government defines as prohibited “assault-style” firearms.”
The bill was considered by the Commons Public Safety Committee before Parliament adjourned last week.
During Question Time on December 13, the Prime Minister responded to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s criticism of Bill C-21, who said the government should introduce legislation targeting weapons used by criminals rather than law-abiding hunters.
“Now that he’s been caught with his real intent to go after hunters and farmers instead of gun smugglers and gangsters, will he turn around and promise never again to go after our hunters in our country?” asked Poilievre.
“We are not interested in pursuing weapons typically used for hunting and farm protection,” Trudeau replied, adding that his administration will continue to “consult” Canadians on the proposed list of weapons to be banned.
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Trudeau said on December 5 that his government is listening to feedback from Canadian gun owners on the proposed gun bans. He told reporters in Ingersoll, Ontario that the government has received “a lot of feedback about concerns” that Bill C-21 will ban rifles and shotguns commonly used for hunting.
“We are now listening to feedback on this to ensure we are not capturing weapons that are primarily hunting weapons,” he said.
Two days later, Liberal Yukon Representative Brendan Hanley and Liberal Northwest Territories Representative Michael McLeod told the media that they would not support Bill C-21 unless it was amended to include the law to protect the possession of certain hunting rifles.
A day later, tribal chiefs and their representatives in the First Nations Assembly voted unanimously to oppose the law, while NDP leader Jagmeet Singh told the assembly his party “will not support any amendment that in any way violates your treaty rights.” infringes”.
Federal ministers addressed concerns about the C-21 bill on December 14, telling reporters on Parliament Hill that “19,000 firearms remain available for hunters and sport shooters.”
“If you want to shoot ducks, elk, deer, partridges and grouse, there are many legal firearms,” said Gudie Hutchings, Secretary of State for Rural Economic Development.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the current list of proposed gun bans “takes a look at a number of objective characteristics and seeks to capture those guns that have no place in our communities.”
Mendicino added that the government also wanted to be “in full respect for the hunters and the indigenous communities.”
Noé Chartier and Marnie Cathcart contributed to this report.
