There will be a new federal guns bill introduced: Lametti
Key Takeaways:
- According to his colleague, Justice Minister David Lametti, Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino will introduce new firearms legislation.
- Provinces and territories that make efforts to make guns illegal in their areas are eligible for financial aid.
Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino will announce new gun legislation on Monday, as per his colleague, Justice Minister David Lametti.
On Monday, May 30, "notice paper," which would be the document where MPs, including ministers, announce plans to submit bills and motions soon, Mendicino announced a new measure titled "An Act to modify certain Acts and to make certain consequential adjustments (firearms)."
Lametti mentioned the advance notice offered to the House of Commons in an interview with CTV's Question Period that will air on Sunday and confirmed the plan to unveil the new bill shortly after MPs return to the Commons on May 30 to begin their final four-week session before adjourning for the summer.
PM Justin Trudeau previously announced this week that new gun-control legislation would be introduced by the federal government "in the coming weeks."
Following the election, Medicine was tasked with moving forward on a host of gun-related modifications, though it's unclear what would be included in this latest draught.
He did, however, remark that "a lot of diverse" measures are still pending, ranging from a previously unenacted statute to election campaign promises in 2021.
The upcoming legislation bears the same name as a failed bill from the previous Parliament, which died on the order paper after Trudeau announced the election for 2021.
A few of the outstanding Liberal gun-control promises from that bill and Mendicino's authority letter that could be included in the new law are as follows:
Owners of banned firearms must sell them to the authorities and have them destroyed or "rendered unusable" as soon as possible.
High-capacity magazines that can hold more than the maximum number of bullets are forbidden from being sold or transferred.
Long-gun magazines must be permanently modified. "They can never store more than five rounds."
Financial assistance to provinces as well as territories that take steps to make weapons illegal in their jurisdictions.
The maximum penalty for smuggling and trafficking in firearms is being raised.
There are proposals for "red flag laws," which would allow firearms to be taken away immediately if the owner is deemed a threat to themselves or others. Lametti bears a share of the blame for this promise.
According to the public safety minister, the shooting incident at a Texas elementary school on May 24 serves as a reminder that "we always have a lot of work to do" in Canada.
"It's not simply about enacting sensible and responsible legislation. It's not only about increasing law enforcement spending... Isn't it about preventing crime from occurring in the first place?" On May 25, Mendicino stated.
Lametti added that many of the above promises had been discussed recently in an interview that aired on Sunday.
"I'm not going to speculate on whether or not Minister Mendocino will announce on Monday. I can say that we've heard from gun violence survivors and seen a spike in gun violence... On the other side, we know that we have respectable sports shooters, such as... There's hunting, and we don't want to do anything that would jeopardize those legitimate interests, "Lametti explained.
"As a result, these kinds of talks are vital, continuous, and serious. We're well aware that we need to do something about it. We've committed to doing so, and you'll receive something on Monday."