GUN GRAB! Trudeau enacts last-minute ban on 200 more firearms
Two days before the Liberals vote for a new leader, the Trudeau government added nearly 200 firearm models to its mandatory buyback program, first introduced in 2020 to confiscate guns from law-abiding citizens.
The decision to prohibit 179 additional makes and models of so-called “assault-style” firearms was announced by Associate Public Safety Minister Rachel Bendayan. The new restrictions take effect immediately.
“We have all the tools necessary to ensure that new models of assault-style weapons will be captured and denied legal entry into the Canadian market,” Bendayan told reporters Friday.
“Let’s be clear, these are weapons of war, firearms designed specifically to kill as many people as possible in the least amount of time possible.”
These newly banned firearms will be added to the 2020 order-in-council, which initially prohibited over 1,500 guns. Since then, the Liberals have expanded the scope of the order, now including a ban on over 2,500 firearms.
The government also extended amnesty for current owners until Mar. 1, 2026. While a detailed list of the newly added items isn’t yet public, it does mean that any owners of these firearms will no longer be able to use, sell or lend them.
The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association condemned the move as a “massive attack on lawful citizens and small businesses.”
“Today, they announced the prohibition of an additional 179 models of firearms, primarily targeting semi-automatic hunting and sporting rifles. While “Team Canada” is constantly preaching “Canada First” and “support Canadian” our own government is actively destroying Canadian businesses with prohibitions that will do nothing to enhance public safety,” wrote the association’s managing director Jenn McDonald in a statement Friday.
The Liberals earmarked another $597.9 million over three years in taxpayer funds to confiscate guns from law-abiding firearms owners as part of their Fall Economic Statement.
Before the additional funding was announced, the buyback program was already projected to cost taxpayers over $100 million by 2025 despite the government not collecting a single gun since the plan’s announcement.
“I myself have been frustrated that we couldn’t move faster on a program,” Bendayan said. “The reality is we want to do it right. There are enormous complexities involved in getting a system set up to be able to compensate Canadians, but also protect their personal information.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre vowed to scrap the Liberals’ firearm buyback program, arguing that taxpayer funds would be better spent on securing the border against firearms trafficking. The Toronto Police have said that guns illegally imported into Canada account for 85 per cent of the crimes committed.
“These newly banned models are among some of the most popular firearms for hunting and sport shooting, and in many cases, they are the only viable option for disabled hunters,” said McDonald. “The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association has made it abundantly clear to policymakers just how devastating these measures are, yet our concerns continue to be ignored.”
Canada’s current firearm laws already have limits placed on magazine capacity, including five rounds for almost all semi-automatic rifles and 10 rounds for pistols.
Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights’s vice president of public relations Tracey Wilson called the Trudeau government “cowards” for trying to stoke such a contentious issue on its “last business day.”
“On the last business day of this government, before leadership, in the 11th hour, with geopolitical crises and tariff wars, economic uncertainty, violent crime wave, border and national security issues, prorogation … what do they plan? Another attack on hunters and licensed sport shooters,” wrote Wilson ahead of the Liberals’ announcement.
The sports shooters’ organization added that it’s “imperative” that the Liberals or “any subsequent government reverse” these prohibitions immediately to “protect Canadian jobs, businesses, and a heritage that cannot simply be erased.”
“We are deeply disappointed in the complete lack of empathy, care, and common sense this government has shown to small businesses that contribute to the economy and workforce. These prohibitions are nothing more than political pandering to anti-gun activists, and they will do absolutely nothing to improve public safety,” it said.
Two days before the Liberals vote for a new leader, the Trudeau government added nearly 200 firearm models to its "mandatory buyback" program, first introduced in 2020 to confiscate guns.
www.junonews.com
