The Liberals’ long-promised gun control legislation, Bill C-21, has become law after final passage by the Senate on Thursday night, without amendment, and receiving royal assent on Friday.
The legislation enshrines some measures already enacted by cabinet orders like the freeze on handgun sales and licences for most Canadians, a Criminal Code definition of “assault-style weapons” and an associated ban on these weapons, plus enhanced provisions around 3D-printed ghost guns and smuggling.
Once it receives royal assent, maximum Criminal Code penalties for gun smuggling will increase from 10 to 14 years in prison.
Exemptions will be put in place for the handgun ban for athletes taking part in or coaching elite-level sport shooting such as the Olympics. Regulations on this are still in progress and are expected to be finalized over the next few months, according to a government source.
The broader handgun freeze will be codified immediately upon royal assent.
Bill C-21 also expands the definition of domestic violence to include all forms of intimate partner and family violence, such as coercive control or threats of suicide.
The legislation also prohibits anyone who is the subject of a protection order, such as a restraining order, from owning or possessing firearms, better known as “red flag laws.”
These red flag law provisions also allow a chief firearms officer to revoke someone’s firearm licence if there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may have engaged in domestic violence or stalking. These provisions also take effect immediately upon royal assent.
People will also have to present a firearm possession licence if they want to purchase gun magazines.
A polarized reaction
This legislation is no stranger to controversy, such as the ultimately withdrawn amendments that initially saw many popular hunting rifles included in the banned list before being walked back due to strong pushback from the Indigenous and hunting communities.
Now that the bill is passed, reaction is split among gun control advocates and those working in the industry.
“Well, this is something that we have been working for with the Coalition for Gun Control for decades, actually,” Heather McGregor, YWCA Toronto CEO, told Global News.
The YWCA is one of the member organizations of the Coalition for Gun Control, which formed in 1991 in the wake of the Ecole Polytechnique massacre to push for tougher gun laws.
No stranger to assisting people in domestic violence situations, McGregor welcomes the expansion of the red flag laws. She says the presence of a firearm in a home where domestic violence takes place increases the danger for everyone.
“The red flag laws mean that anyone can go to the court and ask for a prohibition order for guns, for someone who may pose a danger to themselves or to others,” she said.
“That’s the wonderful thing about it is that that the safety measure that this is will protect people in situations like that.”
The organization contracted to help the government with the eventual retail gun buyback, the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA), is “deeply disappointed” with the passage of Bill C-21.
“It’s nothing short of devastating. We stand to lose thousands of jobs in Canada for a bill that is designed to score political points but does nothing to enhance public safety,” CSAAA president Wes Winkel said in a phone interview.
Winkel estimates thousands of jobs will be lost in the Canadian firearms industry through retail scaling back, limited manufacturing and reduced gun range operations.
At his own store, Ellwood Epps Sporting Goods in Orilla, Ont., he says the now codified freeze on handgun sales for non-elite sport shooters eroded a significant portion of his business.
“Thirty per cent of what we sold at our store was handguns and handgun accessories for guys that went to the range, are licensed shooters that have never been a problem in Canadian society,” he said.
According to Statistics Canada, violent crime in Canada involving firearms in Canada declined by five per cent in 2021 compared with 2020. The organization says this is driven by declines in big cities like Toronto.
Statistics Canada has not released 2022 data, but information from the Toronto Police Service indicates that trend likely continues.
McGregor says that she hopes these bans will continue to drive down rates of gun violence.
“Our position is no one needs a handgun. It’s only people in authority, such as the police, that should be able to have handguns. There’s no need for a handgun. Handguns are only used to kill people,” she said.
Winkel sees this freeze as the death of handgun sport shooting in Canada, despite the upcoming exemption.
“Oh, it’s going to kill the sport…. Basically only exemptions that exist are for already registered and licenced to ISU competition or Olympic competition shooters,” he said.
“Handgunning is a lot like other sports where Olympics is just a such a narrow portion of what’s done. You know, there’s so many other competitions that are much broader and have world championships.”
Gun buyback still to come
There are still parts of the legislation that need to be finalized, most notably the retail and individual gun buybacks. This covers the more than 1,500 firearms banned through a cabinet order in the wake of the Portapique, N.S., mass shooting, including the AR-15 and other “assault-style weapons.”
The Criminal Code amnesty for individuals and retailers who already had these firearms in their possession or inventory was quietly extended for a second time in October to allow for more time to draft and implement the buyback program.
The exemption is now in place until Oct. 30, 2025.
Last week, the government issued an “invitation to qualify” to the private sector for companies interested in taking part in these deliberations.
It’s one of the first stages in the federal contracting and procurement process and typically sees firms pitch ideas to run a federal program submit initial information about their capabilities to get a seat at the table.
Speaking on background, a government source calls this an “incredibly massive undertaking” where the government will have to locate, register, collect, safely transport and ultimately dispose of these now-banned firearms.
Despite the organization’s opposition to the legislation and buyback, the CSAAA is working with the government to implement the retail framework. Winkel says they want to ensure businesses get fair compensation and will not take part in the individual buyback.
“That process has been very slow and arduous and we still really don’t have a clear, clear picture where that sits at this point in time,” Winkel said on the buyback.
With the Criminal Code exemption now in its second extension, he does not believe that will do anything to expedite answers for the firearms industry.
“These firearms have been prohibited since May 1, 2020, but they remain in the homes of all these Canadians and there’s been no public safety issues at all over the last three years,” he said.
“It really makes you wonder why we were in such a rush to bypass parliamentary procedure and to rush in an order in council for something that obviously is not a threat to our society.”
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