Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Trudeau’s Gun Policy: Forward into the Past

Monday, February 3, 2020

Trudeau’s Gun Policy: Forward into the Past

In Canada, possession of firearms is heavily regulated through Possession and Acquisition Licenses (PAL), along with additional authorizations and registration certificates for “prohibited” or “restricted” firearms.

The Liberal government’s last legislative proposal on firearms, Bill C-71, was furiously opposed by everyday Canadians, representatives of indigenous and First Nations groups, gun retailers and the firearm industry, and shooting sports and firearm associations, on the basis that the legislation was nothing more than “feel good” amendments that would burden law-abiding gun owners without doing anything to address the real problems caused by gangs, illegal guns, and criminals. Despite this, the bill was passed and received Royal Assent last year.

In the lead-up to last fall’s federal election, the Liberal Party campaigned on promises of “stronger gun control” – specifically, bans on “military-style assault weapons,” granting local governments the power to ban handguns, and of course, even more legislative restrictions.

In a post-election “mandate letter” last December to Bill Blair, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau outlined his legislative and regulatory priorities. At the top of the list are “amend[ing] Canada’s firearms laws to ban all military-style assault rifles, with an associated buyback program and two-year amnesty,” and “work[ing] with provinces and territories to give municipalities the ability to further restrict or ban handguns.”

Earlier this month, Mr. Blair confirmed Trudeau’s gun control agenda, noting that a ban on sales of “assault weapons” will be introduced as a first step, with a mandatory confiscation program (incorrectly called a “buyback”) to follow, with criminal penalties for noncompliance and the unauthorized possession of any prohibited weapon. 

All Canadians have cause for concern. For starters, the price tag that was floated around during the election for this new government confiscation program was CAD$250 million, although one commentator explains that realistically, the actual costs to Canada’s taxpayers will comfortably exceed CAD$600 million. After all, as he points out, the Liberals’ previous great gun control experiment, the failed firearm registry repealed by the Conservative government in 2012, was “predicted to cost no more than $2 million and ended up costing $2.7 billion.” 

Even more shocking, there was no documented public safety benefit associated with the registry. It did not track unregistered or illegal guns. There is no evidence it had any effect on reducing homicides overall or spousal murders in particular, and it did not contribute to solving a single murder. All the registry did was create a pointless government bureaucracy that sucked up taxpayer dollars along with valuable law enforcement and administrative resources that could have been allocated to better use.

Back in 2010, Justin Trudeau, then a Liberal MP, was interviewed on Parliament Hill by constituents who raised concerns regarding the same registry. Mr. Trudeau can be heard confidently advising these citizens that “the gun registry saves lives” and “it’s a piece of a large puzzle that counteracts crime” (at 1:30 and 1:51, respectively), and that “I believe in guns” (0:27). The most staggering whopper of them all, though, is his assertion that their fear of registration as the first step towards government confiscation of firearms is groundless. “That’s never going to happen,” he says at the 2:07 mark, “because here in Canada we have a culture that has grown up with guns and respects the need to go out into the wilderness and shoot things from time to time.”

Canada’s gun owners are now being asked to believe that fair dealing and respect for property rights are the hallmarks of Mr. Trudeau’s new gun policy. Mr. Blair advises that the government is “very mindful we are dealing with law-abiding Canadians and I want to make sure they are treated fairly and respectfully… I have nothing but respect for those who have been adhering to [the existing gun regulations].”

America’s gun owners are used to hearing the authenticity-challenged flim-flammery that their opposition to government gun registration is misplaced and foolish, because these registries would never be used to confiscate their property (here, here, and here, for example).

The truth, though – to borrow the language of the eloquent Prime Minister – is that that particular dog wont “go out into the wilderness and shoot things from time to time.”

IN THIS ARTICLE
Canada gun control laws
TRENDING NOW
Federal Judge in Colorado Insists There is No Second Amendment Right to Buy a Gun

News  

Monday, November 20, 2023

Federal Judge in Colorado Insists There is No Second Amendment Right to Buy a Gun

Honest people can disagree with the Founders’ decision to enshrine the Second Amendment within the Bill of Rights. They cannot, however, pretend that decision never happened. For much of the 20th Century, however, gun control activists ...

Federal Legislation Introduced to Ban “Gas Operated Semiautomatic” Firearms

Friday, December 1, 2023

Federal Legislation Introduced to Ban “Gas Operated Semiautomatic” Firearms

Joe Biden has long insisted he would ban what he calls “assault weapons” and has enlisted a motley succession of extreme anti-gun legislators to aid in that effort. Now, Senators Angus King (IND-ME) and Martin ...

Following Terrorist Attack, Israel Relaxes Gun Laws and Arms Civilians

News  

Monday, October 16, 2023

Following Terrorist Attack, Israel Relaxes Gun Laws and Arms Civilians

Following an unprecedented terrorist attack on civilians that indiscriminately targeted even the elderly, women, and children, Israel has loosened its gun laws and is distributing firearms to civilians. As of press time, the number of victims killed in ...

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License Requirement in NRA-Backed Case.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License Requirement in NRA-Backed Case.

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals ruled that Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License (“HQL”) requirement is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. 

Seventh Circuit Strains to Uphold Illinois’ Gun and Magazine Ban

News  

Monday, November 13, 2023

Seventh Circuit Strains to Uphold Illinois’ Gun and Magazine Ban

At this point, gun owners and other productive Americans don’t anticipate much good news out of Chicago. On November 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit lived up to those expectations when it upheld Illinois’ ...

Virginia: Omnibus Gun Control Bills Filed Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Virginia: Omnibus Gun Control Bills Filed Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session

In Virginia, the pre-filing of legislation has begun for the 2024 session and anti-gun legislators are wasting no time in aggressively laying out their agenda. 

SCOTUS Bruen Decision (Unsurprisingly) Popular with American People

News  

Monday, November 20, 2023

SCOTUS Bruen Decision (Unsurprisingly) Popular with American People

When the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released its decision last year in the landmark New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen case, anti-gun extremist organizations had a collective conniption ...

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

News  

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

More than three years have passed since Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban and mandatory confiscation (“buyback”) of what he called “military grade assault weapons,” which was followed by a national handgun “freeze” ...

Nebraska: Kearney City Council Rescinds Gun-Free Zone Ordinance

Take Action  

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Nebraska: Kearney City Council Rescinds Gun-Free Zone Ordinance

On Tuesday, November 28th, the Kearney City Council voted 3-2 to rescind the recent gun-free zone ordinance Resolution 2023-149. 

Massachusetts: Sunday Hunting Hearing Wednesday

Hunting  

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Massachusetts: Sunday Hunting Hearing Wednesday

Tomorrow, the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources will be holding a hearing on a number of hunting-related bills, including bills pertaining to Sunday Hunting. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.