Bill C21 – Flawed firearms legislation by-passes democratic process
Canadian democracy was completely denied with Bill C-21, the Liberals’ deeply flawed and misguided firearms legislation. Initially intended to freeze lawfully owned handguns, it morphed to include many long guns used for hunting, thus targeting law-abiding firearms owners’, rather than violent criminals.
In my role on parliament’s Public Safety Committee, I have opposed Bill C-21 from the beginning, based on my experience in policing. One of the main reasons is that it is built on a false Liberal premise that a ban on handguns is necessary to reduce gun violence in Canada. The evidence however, clearly shows that law-abiding firearms owners are not and have never been the cause of our country’s gun crime problem. In fact, almost all gun crimes are committed by criminals who use illegal firearms that have been smuggled in from the United States. Under Trudeau’s eight-year watch, violent crime has increased 32 per cent, and gang-related murders have doubled.
When initially debated in the House, Bill C-21 did not include any restrictions on long guns. However, at Committee, the government decided to introduce terrible amendments focused squarely on hunters and farmers, going after legally owned hunting rifles and shotguns. That move backfired after Canadians pushed back forcing the Liberals to withdraw these amendments in early 2023. In late April, the government introduced additional amendments, including a new definition of a prohibited weapon. At the end of the day, Bill C-21 negatively impacts law-abiding firearms owners threatening their ability to hunt, sport shoot, and lawfully own firearms without improving public safety.
Undemocratically, the Liberals then instituted a programming motion which forced the Bill through Committee in just a couple of extended meetings, limiting debate to only five minutes per party, for each of the long list of amendments. The motion also restricted debate at third reading in the House, before being sent to the Senate. It should be noted that the NDP voted in favour of this Bill and the restrictions on debate, continuing their support for their Liberal coalition partners.
This is not how a democracy should work. We need to get back to the principles of parliamentary democracy, where every voice is heard, every opinion is considered, and every decision is made with the best interests of Canadians at heart. In a democratic society there should have been fulsome debate on such controversial legislation, which from the outset was created without proper consultation.
Conservatives support common-sense firearms policies that keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals. When we form government, creating effective policies to reduce gun violence will be a priority. Our focus will bring back serious sentences for repeat violent offenders that were repealed by the Liberals, and we will reverse Trudeau’s revolving door of justice. We will invest in policing and a secure border rather than spending billions confiscating firearms from law-abiding Canadians.
Glemn Motz is the MP for the Medicine Hat-CardstonWarner