The Canadian government is expanding its list of banned firearms, adding hundreds of additional makes, models and their variants, effective immediately.
Lawful owners of these newly prohibited firearms will be granted amnesty from criminal liability while they take the steps required to comply, ahead of disposing of their firearms through the still-yet-to-be-implemented buyback program.
The federal Liberals also intend to move forward with additional regulatory and legislative measures in the days and months ahead, according to government officials that briefed reporters.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc is making the announcement alongside Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Defence Minister Bill Blair, in Ottawa.
Prohibited firearms cannot be bought, sold, lent, or imported.
Today’s announcement specifically includes “104 families of assault-style firearms, encompassing 324 unique makes and models and their variants,” according to briefing materials.
The federal Liberals’ gun control announcement comes on the eve of the 35th anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre.
Ahead of the news breaking, the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights was already criticizing the move as damaging to licensed gun owners, “while doing nothing to increase the safety of Canadians.”
This move builds on the May 2020 announcement that saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reveal that the federal government was imposing a ban on more than 1,500 models and variants of certain “assault-style” weapons that have been used in mass shootings in Canada and abroad.
The ban did not outlaw these weapons completely, rather the government offered current owners and retailers of these guns the same ability to be granted amnesty under specific and time-limited terms, while officials developed the mandatory compensation system.
This is a breaking news story, more details to come…
