by The Liberal Party headed by political legacy Justin Trudeau just ousted the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in nationwide elections yesterday. The Liberal Party took 184 seats out of 338 which gives them a working majority. They will not have to try and form a coalition government with other smaller parties. The Conservatives retain only 99 seats or 29% of the seats in the Canadian Parliament’s House of Commons.
So what does that mean for Canadian gun owners? First, let’s remember that the Conservative government under Stephen Harper did away with the ineffective and outrageously expensive gun registry. Second, there is this from the Liberal Party platform:
We will take action to get handguns and assault weapons off our streets.
Over the last decade, Stephen Harper has steadily weakened our gun laws in ways that make Canadians more vulnerable and communities more dangerous.
We will take pragmatic action to make it harder for criminals to get, and use, handguns and assault weapons. We will:
- repeal changes made by Bill C-42 that allow restricted and prohibited weapons to be freely transported without a permit, and we will put decision-making about weapons restrictions back in the hands of police, not politicians;
- provide $100 million each year to the provinces and territories to support guns and gangs police task forces to take illegal guns off our streets and reduce gang violence;
- modify the membership of the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee to include knowledgeable law enforcement officers, public health advocates, representatives from women’s groups, and members of the legal community;
- require enhanced background checks for anyone seeking to purchase a handgun or other restricted firearm;
- require purchasers of firearms to show a license when they buy a gun, and require all sellers of firearms to confirm that the license is valid before completing the sale;
- require firearms vendors to keep records of all firearms inventory and sales to assist police in investigating firearms trafficking and other gun crimes;
- immediately implement the imported gun marking regulations that have been repeatedly delayed by Stephen Harper; and
- as part of our investment in border infrastructure, invest in technologies to enhance our border guards’ ability to detect and halt illegal guns from the United States entering into Canada.
We will not create a new national long-gun registry to replace the one that has been dismantled.We will ensure that Canada becomes a party to the international Arms Trade Treaty.
The only thing positive in that list is the claim that a Liberal government will not create a new long-gun registry.
I hate to say it but the next five years are not going to be good ones for Canadian gun owners. Or the rest of Canada for that matter.
Typical Liberals, not knowing the subject. The first point is moot; the PAL is now your permit to transport to an approved range or gunshop, before you had to obtain an ATT (Authority To Transport) that was good for three years. Points 3 thru 6, background checks, showing a valid license, and requiring vendors to keep records are on the books and have been for decades.
As to investing in our border infrastructure there are approximately 3,000 miles of our southern border with the US where there is no customs presence; anyone with an ATV can cross unseen and both coasts are wide open.
Al_in_Ottawa