“Red flag” orders were billed as a faster, simpler way to keep Canadian communities safe by temporarily removing legal firearms from the hands of those who might do themselves — or others — harm. They were part of a suite of gun control measures introduced in the wake of 2020’s Portapique, N.S., mass shooting, the deadliest in the country’s history.
But more than two years after the orders finally became federal law, it’s unclear if they are working as designed — because no one appears to be keeping track of when, where or how often they are being implemented.
