Firearm owners, gun-control advocates disagree on why gun violence is up By Tim Naumetz. Published on Feb 5, 2021 6:48pm Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to unveil his government s latest bid to strengthen Canada s gun control laws this morning. (Canada Border Services Agency handout photo)
Statistics Canada reported that the number of violent firearm offences in Canada jumped by 21 per cent in 2019, the fifth year of rising gun violence in a row, but gun control advocates and firearm lobbies are casting blame on different targets.
The two sides have engaged in a heated online confrontation over the rise, as a Federal Court case over the Trudeau government’s prohibition of thousands of semi-automatic rifles looms in the background.
Firearm lobbies unhappy with timing of gun-ban-contract announcement By Tim Naumetz. Published on Jan 5, 2021 5:16pm Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to unveil his government s latest bid to strengthen Canada s gun control laws this morning. (Canada Border Services Agency handout photo)
The government’s decision to choose the lead-up to the new year to launch the first step of a ban on assault-style rifles has drawn the ire of two senior gun lobbies.
The ban took effect on May 1, 2020, and this initial contract will cost Canadian taxpayers $1.2 million.
The surprise revelation that the government had contracted a buyback plan to compensate thousands of gun owners who will lose their weapons by April 2022 came through a routine notice on the government’s procurement web site. There was no companion news release from a federal department or cabinet office.