Ottawa’s plan to stop gun imports into Canada has some gun owners and experts in Alberta calling it an overreach that could have unintended consequences.
As of August 19, the Canadian government will ban the importation of restricted handguns into the country. The ban is being imposed without the approval of Parliament and instead regulatory restrictions will be used to change the policy.
The measure is expected to prevent “almost all” individuals and businesses from importing handguns into Canada, the government said Friday.
“This ban is a temporary measure while a full arms freeze goes through the parliamentary process, preventing them from being reloaded on the shelves in the near future,” Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said.
When CTV News Edmonton asked Diane Arnois, owner of gun shop P&D Enterprises, what she thought of the measure, she said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “went too far.”
“No matter what way he has to do it, he pushes for it,” Arnaud said. “And in my personal opinion, I would tell him it’s time to step down.
Doug King, a criminologist at Mount Royal University, says that while the gun ban may increase gun bans at the border, the overall impact may not reduce gun violence on the street.
“The majority of firearms used in the commission of criminal events are firearms that are not owned through due process in Canada; they were probably smuggled in,” King told CTV News Edmonton. “You want to address gun violence in Canada, tackle this problem. That’s where you’ll get the biggest return on your investment.”
King believes the government should have increased funding to law enforcement agencies such as the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency to help hire more officers, conduct more searches of commercial vehicles and increase officers’ capacity to investigate and share intelligence .
“The challenge of all of this is that the criminal elements are one step ahead of law enforcement, and it seems to me that public policy is always one step behind law enforcement, which is one step behind the criminal element,” King added.
Another aspect the regulatory change doesn’t address is the possibility of 3D printing firearms, King says.
“We have to start dealing with the idea that I can download a program right off the Internet to (3D) print a firearm,” he said. “They make firearms. You and I could get this program, I think, within 30 minutes (online search).”
In late May, the Liberals introduced Bill C-21, a law that, if passed, would further restrict legal access to handguns. It includes a section that stops short of an outright ban on ownership, opting instead for a national “freeze” on the sale or transfer of handguns in Canada, allowing current owners to retain ownership of theirs.
The proposed bill also seeks to signal the creation of systems that flag individuals who may pose a risk to themselves or others, and to increase maximum penalties for crimes involving firearms, including smuggling and trafficking.
ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES
On Friday, Jolley said the government decided to announce an import ban because there had been a “surge” in gun purchases — particularly handguns — since the introduction of Bill C-21.
“We want to prevent that. That is why we are announcing this import ban… We know that the majority of handguns in the country are imported because there is no handgun manufacturer in the country,” Jolly said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino talk with Toronto Police Superintendent Steve Watts of the Organized Crime Unit after a press conference announcing new gun control laws in Toronto, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
On Saturday, the shelves that normally hold guns at the Edmonton store were nearly empty.
“I’ve been waiting for the approval to come, which has come in the last few days,” said Pat Cowman, a gun owner.
He applied for a license permit last spring and was able to get his gun today before the store sold out.
“People are already rushing to buy a gun,” Arnaud added. “Those who have a license and can legally own it. But the long-term effects are much more severe.”
Empty shelves that normally hold guns are seen at P & D Enterprises in Edmonton on Saturday, August 6, 2022. (CTV News Edmonton/Brandon Lynch)
The legislation remains in the early stages of moving through parliament, with MPs poised to begin examining the bill in committee once the autumn sitting of the House of Commons begins at the end of September.
For King, this “surge” in gun purchases was to be expected — especially with how far the bill still has to go to get royal approval and become law.
“I think they ended up saying on Friday, ‘Wow, this thing could be delayed quite a bit longer than just October,'” King said.
“However, the idea that banning the legal sale and transfer of guns between law-abiding Canadians and assuming that this will have a significant impact on gun-related violence in Canada is misleading, to say the least,” he added.
King said studies have shown that those who go through the Canadian firearms licensing process, including background checks, are less likely to commit a criminal offense than someone who hasn’t.
“There’s a certain assumption that anyone who owns a firearm is somehow closer to committing a Criminal Code offense than people who don’t,” he added. “This is not true. Ultimately it comes down to importing, smuggling illegal firearms into Canada.”
With files from Rachel Aiello of CTV News.ca and Steven Dyer of CTV News Edmonton
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