Explainer: Are guns illegal in Canada? Key questions answered

May 31 (Reuters) – Canada’s government on Monday introduced legislation to implement a national freeze on the purchase and sale of handguns as part of an arms control package that would also limit the capacity of magazines and ban some toys that They look like weapons. read more

The new legislation comes just a week after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in his classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

Here are key details about Canada’s gun control laws:

ARE GUNS ILLEGAL IN CANADA?

No. Canada has much stricter gun laws than the United States, but Canadians can own firearms as long as they have a license. Restricted or prohibited firearms, such as handguns, must also be registered.

Canadians must be over 18 and pass a firearms safety course to obtain a license, which is renewed every five years.

Children ages 12 to 17 can obtain a juvenile license, which allows them to borrow unrestricted firearms, such as most rifles or shotguns, for hunting or shooting competitions, and to purchase ammunition.

Exceptions can be made for those under the age of 12, including indigenous children, who need to hunt to support themselves and their families.

Indigenous peoples involved in traditional hunting practices may not need to take a firearms safety course if it is too far away or expensive. Instead, they can apply for an alternative certification based on a recommendation from a community elder confirming that they have the necessary firearms knowledge.

Canada banned the sale and use of around 1,500 models of assault weapons, including the AR-15 rifle, two years ago following a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia.

HOW MANY GUNS ARE THERE IN CANADA?

The number of registered firearms in Canada increased by 71 percent between 2010 and 2020, reaching about 1.1 million, according to the federal government.

A 2017 Small Arms Survey estimated that there were 12.7 million firearms in civilian possession in Canada, and there are an estimated 34.7 firearms per 100 people.

WHERE IS GUN OWNERSHIP CONCENTRATED?

According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, more than 2.2 million people had gun licenses in 2020.

Most of them were in Ontario and Quebec, the two most densely populated provinces, followed by the western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.

A 2019 Angus Reid survey found that the majority of guns in Canada are located in rural areas and used for hunting and recreational shooting.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DIE FROM GUN VIOLENCE IN CANADA?

Canada’s gun homicide rate is 0.5 per 100,000 people, compared to the US rate of 4.12, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of California said. Washington in a 2021 analysis.

HOW MANY MASS SHOOTINGS HAS CANADA HAD RECENTLY?

1989 – 14 engineering students were murdered in their classroom at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec.

1992: Four professors were shot to death by a colleague at Concordia University, Montreal.

2006: A gunman killed a woman and injured 19 others in a shooting at Dawson College in Montreal.

2016: A teenager killed four people in La Loche, Saskatchewan.

2017: Six Muslim men were killed in a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City.

2020 – A gunman driving a fake police car shot 13 people and killed nine others in a fire he set in Portapique, Nova Scotia.

IS THERE OPPOSITION TO STRONGER GUN CONTROL?

A March 2021 poll by polling firm Leger found that 66% of respondents said there should be stricter gun control in Canada.

Gun rights advocates oppose the latest measures. The Canadian Coalition for Gun Rights called the new legislation a “massive sucker punch.”

Alberta Firearms Chief Teri Bryant said the government’s proposed freeze on firearms sales would be a “huge intrusion” on property rights and privacy, with the government calling it a “sign of virtue”.

He called for more firearms officers to be hired to ensure faster and more thorough background investigations.

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