Court challenge seeks to overturn federal gun ban

The owner of a small familyrun sporting goods store in Prince George, B.C., is taking the federal government to court over sweeping new gun regulations enacted earlier this month in the wake of Canada’s worst mass shooting.

Cassandra Parker, co-owner of K.K.S. Tactical Supplies Ltd. filed the application for judicial review this week after retaining the services of Ottawa criminal defence lawyer Solomon Friedman, a noted firearms law expert and coauthor of the Annotated Firearms Act.

The application asks for a judicial review of the government’s prohibition of some 1,500 models of firearms — the order banned an estimated 100,000 guns that were previously owned legally — arguing that while the government is permitted to ban firearms of certain classifications, an exception exists under the criminal code for guns deemed “reasonable for use in Canada for hunting or sporting purposes.”

The May 1 cabinet order is “subject to review” by the court, Friedman argues in the application, and it “cannot stand” if the government’s decision is found to be “unreasonable, arbitrary or irrational.”

The application names the Attorney General of Canada, the RCMP and the registrar of firearms as respondents, and requests any future hearing on the matter to be held in Ottawa.

According to the application, Friedman intends to call evidence to demonstrate the firearms banned under the regulation (SOR/202096) “are reasonable for use in Canada for hunting or sporting purposes” and “do not pose a disproportionate risk to public safety.”