Contentious gun-marking plan deferred two years
The federal government again has delayed plans to introduce a controversial marking scheme for firearms manufactured and imported into Canada, despite promising during the 2015 election campaign to enact the rules “immediately.”
The Firearms Marking Regulations were set to come into force on Dec. 1, following an 18-month delay for “substantial rewriting,” but the federal government said Friday they have been deferred for another two years.
The regulations, aimed at achieving compliance with a United Nations Firearms treaty, were drafted 13 years ago and have been delayed nine times now, by four successive federal governments.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told Postmedia News last spring that the regulations had been sitting on a shelf for more than a decade and needed to be rewritten to make them relevant.
That work appears to be continuing.
In a news release issued Friday, Public Safety Canada said it is still developing “an effective markings regime that enables law enforcement to effectively trace crime guns, without imposing undue constraints or costs on firearms owners and businesses.”
Public Safety Canada said more information about the decision will be published in the Canada Gazette later this month.
As written, the Firearms Marking Regulations would require every new firearm, including air rifles and paintball markers, to be engraved with the word “Canada” or the letters “CA.”
Foreign firearms also would have to carry the year of import.
While the Liberals insist the rules are part of a system aimed at helping police identify guns used to commit crimes, critics maintain that the regulations would add at least $100 to the cost of every firearm sold in Canada.
Others have suggested that the regulations are redundant, as legal firearms already carry unique and traceable serial numbers.
In the lead-up to the 2015 federal election, the Liberals promised to introduce a host of new gun-control measures and “immediately implement the imported gun-marking regulations that have been repeatedly delayed by Stephen Harper.”
The government’s new gun control bill is making its way through the House of Commons; earlier this year, Ottawa expanded its gun-control efforts by launching consultations on a proposed handgun ban.