REPORT from OTTAWA Rapport d’Ottawa

by/par Carol Hughes Federal member of Parliament Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing

The government's firearms legislation, Bill C-21, recently passed in the House of Commons. With an increase in gun deaths in Canadathroughthepastdecade,it'sanimportant piece of legislation that, in its current iteration, will help crack down on handguns, as well as ghost guns. However, it was also a bill saddled with an unnecessary degree of controversy, particularly from the government's unforced errorsinintroducingunpopularamendmentslate in the process that were eventually withdrawn. Thebillinitsentiretyhasbeenmarredbyfrankly absurd misinformation by the Official Opposition.

SowhatdoesC-21actuallydo? Thebill introduces a “red flag” law to allow anyone, includingconcernedfriendsorrelatives,toapply toajudgetoimmediatelyremovefirearmsfrom an individual who may pose a danger to themselvesorothers.ItalsoIntroducesa“yellow flag” law allowing a Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) to temporarily suspend and review an individual's firearms license if there are serious questionsabouttheireligibilitytoownoroperate a firearm. In addition, it revokes an individual's firearmslicenseiftheyhaveengagedinanactof domestic violence or stalking; increases maximum penalties for firearms trafficking, smuggling, and other firearm offences; and makesitillegaltoaltermagazinecartridges.And perhapsmostimportantly,iteffectivelybansthe buying, selling, transferring, and importing of handgunswithsomenarrowexemptions.

MuchofthedebatearoundC-21actually surrounded a series of amendments the Liberal governmenttabledtothebillinNovember,afull fivemonthsafterthebillpassedatsecondreading inJune2022.Essentially,thegovernmenthadput forward two sweeping amendments to the bill, over five times the size of the original bill, that listedthousandsofnewweaponsforaproposed ban and would pre-ban some guns before ever coming onto market. This is where the government grossly overstepped their bounds, and almost made a mess of a fairly commonsense bill meant to help stem the flow of handgunsfromcomingovertheborder.

Whenthegovernmenttabledthoseamendments, they weren't supported by witness testimony at the Public Safety Committee. It was quite clear that they needed to be scrapped, as it was an