Polytechnique survivors tell feds to ban assault rifles

OTTAWA— A leading voice for stricter gun control is calling on the Liberal government to place an immediate moratorium on new sales of assault-style firearms as well as a permanent ban on the importation and manufacture of handguns.

In a letter sent Monday to Bill Blair, the new federal public safety minister, PolySeSouvient urges prompt steps to fulfil the Liberal campaign promise to ban military-style assault rifles and crack down on handguns.

PolySeSouvient includes students and graduates of Montreal’s École Polytechnique, where 14 women were gunned down 30 years ago on Dec. 6, 1989.

The letter was signed by PolySeSouvient co-ordinator and engineering school graduate Heidi Rathjen and group spokesperson Nathalie Provost, wounded in the 1989 shooting.

It was sent on behalf of several relatives of victims of the Polytechnique massacre and a deadly 2006 shooting at Montreal’s Dawson College, the father of slain police officer Thierry LeRoux and the president of the Quebec City mosque where six people were fatally shot in 2017.

Scott Bardsley, a spokesperson for Blair, said the minister looks forward to reviewing the letter and appreciates support for the government’s promise to ban military-style assault rifles. The Liberals campaigned on a commitment to outlaw such firearms, including the AR-15, saying guns designed to inflict mass human casualties have no place in Canada.