Canada will limit the small arms market with new legislation

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government on Monday introduced legislation that would freeze the import, purchase or sale of firearms.

“We are limiting the number of firearms in this country,” Trudeau said.

Regulations to stem the growth of personal handguns are expected to be enacted this fall.

“It will be illegal to buy, sell, transfer or import firearms anywhere in Canada,” the prime minister said.

Canada already has plans to ban 1,500 types of military-style firearms and offer a mandatory buyback program starting at the end of the year. You’ve already expanded the background checks.

Trudeau has long had plans to enact tougher gun laws, but the new measure’s introduction comes after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, this month.

Bill Blair, minister for emergency preparedness, said Canada is very different from the United States.

“In Canada, gun ownership is a privilege, not a right,” Blair said. “This is a principle that sets us apart from many other countries around the world, particularly our colleagues and friends from the South. In Canada, guns are only intended to be used for hunting and sporting purposes.”

Canada has had far fewer mass shootings than the US in part due to a lack of easy access to guns, although the US population is also much larger than Canada’s.

Blair noted that the weapons are often illegally smuggled in from the US, which he said has one of the largest small arms stockpiles in the world.

The government plans to combat gun smuggling and trafficking by increasing criminal penalties, providing more tools to investigate gun crime and strengthening border measures. Trudeau said the increased funding has already helped border officials double the number of smuggled weapons seized at the US border.

The government also said the bill would also allow gun licenses to be withdrawn from people involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment, such as stalking.

The bill would create a new “red flag” law that would allow courts to require that people deemed a danger to themselves or others turn over their firearms to police. The government said the move would protect the safety of those seeking the process, often women at risk of domestic abuse, by protecting their identities.

The government said it will require magazines on rifles to be permanently modified so they can never hold more than five rounds and will ban the sale and transfer of high-capacity magazines under the Penal Code.

“Canada can teach us a lot,” tweeted Bruce Heyman, a former US ambassador to Canada under the Obama administration.

Trudeau said his government recognizes that the vast majority of Canadians who own guns are responsible, but the level of gun violence is unacceptable. “This is a real, concrete national measure to keep Canadians safe,” Trudeau said.

The new measures are sure to pass in Canada’s Parliament, as the ruling Liberals and the New Democrats from the left-wing opposition have enough votes.

Pierre Poilievre, who is running to be leader of the Conservative Party, said law-abiding gun owners must be respected and dangerous criminals must be jailed.