Gun Rights

“In other words, there’s almost a zero percent chance that any illegal weapons entering the country via rail will ever be found,”

Canada’s public safety department says it does not know how many guns are smuggled into the country.

In a federal briefing note obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Department of Public Safety said the scope of gunrunning in Canada is “unknown.”

“Cross-border smuggling of firearms poses a threat to the safety and security of Canada,” said the note, titled “Efforts To Address Firearms Smuggling And Trafficking.”

A Hamilton jury has found Peter Khill not guilty of second-degree murder but guilty of manslaughter after shooting and killing Jon Styres in 2016.

After roughly 13 hours of deliberations, the 12-person jury reached the verdict on Friday afternoon.

At 5:06 p.m., Khill learned his fate.

For years, we were told that it was wrong to prohibit the CDC from doing research on guns and gun violence. I argued that nothing prohibited them from doing such research, the laws in place just prevented them from anti-gun advocacy and that it was on them to decide unbiased research equated to advocacy.

The Alberta government is taking over prosecutions of federal firearm charges, and may even decide not to take offenders to court, in its fight over Ottawa’s proposed amendments to Bill C-21.

The federal legislation has been criticized for impacting guns used by hunters.

Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro announced Thursday that the province’s Crown prosecution service would assume responsibility for prosecutions as of Jan. 1. He said federal lawyers currently handle those cases.

OTTAWA—Nineteen thousand.

That’s how many makes and models of guns the Liberals insisted Wednesday will still be available for hunters and sports shooters to buy and use as the government presses ahead with efforts to enshrine a massive ban on firearms.

Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings offered the number as the Liberals tried to reframe the debate around controversial amendments to Bill C-21, sending a posse of parliamentarians before a microphone outside the House of Commons chamber to try and clarify their proposals, and show a bit of contrition.

Canada’s maximum federal penalty for gun trafficking, which is a 10-year prison sentence, has never been imposed despite the Liberal government proposing it be increased to 14 years, according to an Inquiry of Ministry recently tabled in the House of Commons.

The inquiry showed that 390 individuals had been convicted on charges relating to firearms trafficking over the past eight years, but that none had received the maximum 10-year sentence, reports Blacklock’s Reporter.

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is trying to find the dividing line between guns suitable for hunting and ones that have no place in society because they pose significant dangers in the wrong hands.

Trudeau said in an interview with The Canadian Press that while the effort is sparking disagreement, it’s up to society to figure out “where that line is going to be.”

The criminals will decide what guns they want, Trudeau would have the rest of us made defenseless.

There’s an ancient tradition, which even predates Canada having its own Parliament, that one MP may not accuse another of lying. Indeed, members go to great lengths to think up euphemisms by which they can call one another liars without actually uttering the word.

In Britain, MPs often accuse each other of committing “the exact opposite of the truth.”

Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed says the government’s controversial firearms legislation is not trying to target hunters and farmers — but some guns commonly used by them may still be banned.

Noormohamed, who sits on the parliamentary committee now grappling with the bill, acknowledged that firearms like the SKS rifle — which is on the list of proposed prohibitions — are sometimes used by hunters. But specific variants of the SKS have also been used to commit acts of violence, he added

Now do Icepicks.

OTTAWA — The public outcry over the Liberals’ proposed gun legislation is a reassuring sign that, despite aberrant levels of political polarization, Canada remains a land of moderation, pragmatism and common sense.

Chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations have voted to publicly reject the Liberal government’s proposed gun-control legislation.

An amendment to Bill C-21, which is currently being debated by members of Parliament, aims to create an evergreen definition for “assault-style” weapons and enshrine it in law, allowing the government to ban hundreds of models of firearms.

Bill C-21 is the latest and the most ambitious gun control legislation tabled by the Trudeau government. Therefore, it is a hugely controversial measure, with both camps entrenched in their usual uncompromising positions. Unfortunately, the government aggravated the situation by bringing forward at the last minute a series of complex amendments that make the bill difficult to understand even for knowledgeable persons. Whether this manoeuvre is the result of incompetence or of cynicism (as my friend Tasha Kheiriddin has asserted in the Post), the government should be condemned for this attempt to bulldoze Parliament on such an important bill.

OTTAWA – Seven members of a parliamentary committee studying the Liberal gun bill have requested two special meetings to hear from witnesses on the government’s proposed definition of an assault-style firearm.

The definition, put forward by the government as an amendment, has prompted confusion and controversy as MPs go over Bill C-21 clause by clause.

The seven Liberal, Bloc and New Democrat MPs want clarity on the amendment amid concerns that the measure would outlaw many firearms commonly used by hunters.

OTTAWA — Cracks are beginning to form in the Liberal caucus over the government’s contentious gun control bill, and the Conservatives were quick to jump on it during question period on Wednesday.

Addressing the Liberals across the aisle, Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre wasted no time in bringing up comments made by Yukon Liberal MP Brendan Hanley, who said on Wednesday he won’t be supporting Bill C-21.