Trudeau says government ‘listening to feedback’ on gun legislation

The federal government may be adjusting the aim of its gun legislation.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government has heard the complaints from gun owners and business owners that the legislation is targeting some weapons that shouldn’t be included.

“That’s what we’re listening to feedback on now, to make sure that we’re not capturing weapons that are primarily hunting weapons,” Trudeau told reporters in Ingersoll, Ont. “But we all know that we need to make sure that guns that are designed to kill the largest number of people as quickly as possible have no place in Canada.”

The amendment to Bill C-21 moves to ban “a firearm that is a rifle or shotgun, that is capable of discharging centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner and that is designed to accept a detachable cartridge magazine with a capacity greater than five cartridges of the type for which the firearm was originally designed.”

The legislation would ban almost all types of semi-automatic firearms in Canada.

On Nov. 24, the Saskatchewan government joined its counterparts from Alberta and Manitoba to protest the feds’ proposed amendments.

Saskatchewan also has introduced The Saskatchewan Firearms Act to protect the rights of what it called “lawful firearms owners” in the face of the federal legislation.

“This Act will help address concerns of responsible firearms owners and enhance public safety across Saskatchewan,” Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell said in a media release.

“We take public safety seriously and support initiatives that reduce the criminal use of firearms, while preventing gang violence and stopping illegal guns from entering our province.”

Federally, the Opposition Conservatives said the proposed change would ban some guns that are used solely for hunting. That prompted Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino to say that’s not the government’s intention and to accuse Tory MPs of “fearmongering.”

Trudeau said Monday his government is consulting with Canadians on the list and is listening to “a lot of feedback” coming from hunters.

— With files from The Canadian Press