Liberals eye federal ban on handguns
Grits also preparing bill that would fund provincial restrictions
The Trudeau government is still considering a nationwide ban on handguns as a “last resort," even as it prepares to introduce legislation that will offer financial support to provinces that bring in their own restrictions.
“There is a robust debate about taking action (on handguns) from coast-to-coast,” said one person with knowledge of the government's plan.
A bill in the last Parliament, C21, proposed allowing municipalities to ban handguns, as well as a host of other measures such as creating a “red flag” regime to remove firearms from people deemed to pose a danger to the public and a buyback program for prohibited “assault-style” weapons.
However, the election call in August saw the bill die on the order paper.
In their election platform, the Liberals resurrected some of the ideas from C21 but on handguns said they would provide $1 billion in financial support for provinces or territories that wanted to implement a ban.
Government sources suggest new legislation to be introduced this spring will attempt to strike deals with provincial governments.
The problem is that, while municipal politicians in cities like Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa have embraced the idea of a ban, provinces like Ontario and Quebec have not.
Hence, the continuing discussion inside the federal government about a national ban. “It's not something we campaigned on in the last election but it's not off the table,” said one official.
It may be that the prospect of Ottawa acting unilaterally persuades premiers to cave in and take the federal cash on offer.
Justin Trudeau has made clear the likely reaction in Ottawa, if provinces continue to hold out.
He told The Canadian Press in December that he wouldn't let opposition from premiers scuttle plans to help municipalities that want to ban handguns.
“I have been assured that there are other tools we can use that wouldn't be ideal because it would involve disagreement with the provinces at a time when we want to be collaborative,” he said, without elaborating.
The idea of a nationwide ban would solve the problem of a patchwork of rules emerging across the country, a situation that could see guns flow from unregulated to regulated jurisdictions. Firearm control advocates have urged a countrywide phase-out of private ownership of handguns that would grandfather guns currently held legally but ban the importation and manufacture of new handguns.
Heidi Rathjen, founder of Polyremembers, a gun control group of Polytechnique students and graduates, said she would welcome federal measures that counter the proliferation of handguns, over the possibility of transferring the ability to ban handguns at the provincial level.
But critics point out that such new restrictions would only apply to legal gun-owners and would do nothing to stem the flow of illegal guns from the United States.