Courtesy: CHAT Newsroom

By Angela Kazmierczak

Liberals withdraw amendment to assault weapons

Feb 3, 2023 | 4:51 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Liberal Party has put a pause on an amendment to its guns bill, which introduced a controversial new definition of an assault-style weapon.

The amendment would have restricted access to hunting rifles.

Still, a local gun enthusiast says rifles are not in the clear.

The liberal amendment to Bill C-21 was first introduced in Nov. of 2023 during a committee meeting. But after the House of Common’s Public Safety Committee expressed concerns this morning, the amendment was put on pause.

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Following the safety committee’s decision, Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, quickly took to Twitter to issue a statement.

“The federal government’s decision to withdraw the amendments was merely a pause in their campaign to ban shotguns and rifles commonly used by hunters, farmers, sport shooters and Indigenous Peoples in Canada,” said Mendicino.

The Government of Canada website says, “these guns are designed for military use and can be used to injure or kill a large number of people quickly. The significant risk these firearms pose to public safety outweighs any justification for their continued use and availability in Canada.”

The Vice President of the Medicine Hat Rifle and Revolver Club, Randy Adam, responds by saying he feels this ban is targeting the wrong people.

To ensure public safety, Adam suggests the government instead look at illegal guns being smuggled from the United States. Adams says this ban only devastates gun sports, the gun industry and those who depend on hunting for food.

“In 2019, it was estimated that 9 billion dollars put into the economy from all sports shooting and hunting in the country. And that’s a lot of coin,” said Adams.

The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association conducted a survey in 2019 that found the sports shooting industry was worth 8 to 9 billion dollars to the Canadian economy.

“If they would have been a little more forthright and there was more discussion on it initially and that, but to bring it last minute, it’s kind of dirty dirty politics,” he said.

“A lot of people need them for hunting, to secure food supply for themselves and that [the ban] was going to impact them greatly,” said Adams.

“This is going to be our last chance. Because if the Liberals get a majority government, I think you’re going to see that he’s going to destroy gun ownership completely in this country,” he added.

Adams encourages that Canadians support the CCFR and the firearm rights groups that are contending against Bill C-21.