National Post (National Edition)
Critics attack proposed expansion of `red flag' gun law
FEAR OVERREACH
OTTAWA tabled by the federal government grants Canadian authorities expanded powers to search the home of any gun owner that is subject to a legal complaint, potentially allowing police to seize firearms for up to 30 days without a warrant.
The rules fall under the Liberals' new firearms legislation, Bill C-21, tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday by Public Safety Minister Bill Blair.
The legislation introduces a number of potential new restrictions on Canadian gun owners, including a provision that could allow municipalities to outlaw the transport of handguns.
Among the proposed changes is an expansion of existing “red flag” laws, which allow people to file a request in court to have the firearms seized of a person they regard as a public threat.
Bill C-21, in its current form, would grant judges the power to issue a seizure order in cases where “it would not be practicable to obtain a warrant,” and before the gun owner has the opportunity to defend himself in court.
The new provision is likely to further infuriate gun owners, who were already in an uproar over the federal government's sweeping ban on “assault-style” firearms imposed May 1. The bill has already raised concerns among some legal experts, who say the rules amount to a legal overreach that could subject gun owners to search and seizures on spurious grounds.
“There's definitely a tremendous opportunity for abuse,” said Arkadi Bouchelev, a Toronto-based lawyer currently representing several applicants in a legal challenge against Ottawa's May 1 ban.
“The biggest problem with this provision is the person who is the subject of such an order does not have the opportunity to present his side of the case,” he said.
“This could be the result of a malicious complaint.”
The Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ramped up efforts in the last year to toughen laws and regulations surrounding gun ownership, spurred on by the mass shooting in Nova Scotia in April that left 22 people dead. Those efforts have been met with mixed reviews, criticized by gun owners for needlessly targeting non-criminals while being dismissed by gun control groups for being too lenient.
Blair as early as May suggested he would be expanding red flag laws, which were established in an effort to protect victims of domestic violence, prevent terrorist threats or stop suicide attempts.
The minister on Tuesday said the new legislation was crafted strictly for the purpose of avoiding the “tragic outcomes” that come as a result of leaving firearms in the hands of the wrong people. He reiterated that gun ownership in Canada is “a privilege and not a right.”
“There is nothing in the measures that we are bringing forward intended to interfere, or make more difficult, the activities of legitimate hunting and sport activities with firearms.”
Also included in the new bill is that gun owners will no longer be forced to sell their now-prohibited firearms back to the government, and can instead store them under highly-restrictive conditions. Prohibited firearms can now be kept by owners, but can't be fired, sold, transported, or passed on to next of kin, ministers said Tuesday.
The ban on May 1 immediately outlawed 11 categories of mostly semi-automatic rifles, including the AR-style that has gained notoriety for its use in several U.S. mass shootings. Gun lobbyists and some private owners said the ban arbitrarily targeted so-called “military style” firearms, which they say was selected purely for esthetic reasons.
Bill C-21 will also outlaw AR replicas or any “unregulated airgun that looks exactly like a conventional regulated firearm,” according to a government release on Tuesday. The legislation did not specify which replica rifles would be banned.
Municipalities will ostensibly now have the authority to outlaw handguns in Canada, as the bill grants authority to restrict the transport of handguns in cities and towns. In those places, gun owners would not be allowed to “store a handgun at a place other than a business that is the holder of a licence that authorizes it to store prohibited firearms or restricted firearms,” according the legislation.
Industry representatives say the new rules only introduce new uncertainties for business owners in Canada, while failing to address cross-border smuggling and gang violence that makes up the majority of gun violence in Canada. New rules around interchangeable magazines, for example, remain unclear.
“We're going to need a little more precision,” said Alison de Groot, head of the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA).
The CSAAA, which represents a number of firearms retailers in Canada, criticized Ottawa's May 1 order in council (OIC), and called on the government to compensate shop owners for $1.1 billion in inventory that can no longer be sold. She said government officials have declined to provide updated information on its original ban.
“We are literally still waiting on definitions that would allow our businesses to be in compliance with the law on the previous OIC,” de Groot said.
Conservative public safety critic Shannon Stubbs also criticized the legislation on Tuesday, saying efforts should instead be focused on bulking up resources within the Canada Border Services Agency to curb smuggling. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's own union came out against the Liberal ban in May, saying it failed to address a root cause of gun violence along the Canada-U.S. border.
“Instead of targeting law-abiding Canadians and firearm retailers, the government should be investing in police anti-gang and gun units and the CBSA to provide law enforcement with the resources they need to stop illegal smuggling operations and get dangerous criminals and gangs off the streets,” Stubbs said in a statement.
DEFINITELY A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY FOR ABUSE.