Latest Liberal gun policies spark cynicism, amusement in firearm community

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OTTAWA — The Trudeau Liberals’ latest attempt to right the course for their troubled gun policy has many Canadian gun owners content to ride out the clock.

Thursday’s order-in-council added 324 new firearms to the government’s list of prohibited weapons, but with an amnesty period that’ll outlive the current government by well over a week, licenced firearms owners are now content to sit and wait.

The amnesty period for Thursday’s new prohibitions will expire on Oct. 30, 2025 — 10 days after the deadline for Canada’s next federal election, one that poll numbers and cratering government support suggest the Trudeau Liberals will handily lose.

Firearms policy expert Tim Thurley said the Liberals’ constant trickle of new regulations is causing an attitude shift within the gun community — and those who were concerned over the May 2020 order-in-council have a much rosier outlook this time around.

“Even some who initially planned to participate in the firearm compensation program are instead now planning to use the amnesty period to wait out the government’s term in the hope of repeal,” Thurley told the Toronto Sun.

“The government has not worked with gun owners or made sincere effort to bring them on board, even though they are the main stakeholders.”

Gary Mauser, professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University and senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, agreed.

“Gun owners know the current amnesty period hasn’t changed so they don’t worry about police raiding their homes to collect the newly-banned possessions that they purchased and use legally,” he said.

“They know that the Liberals are still trying to figure out how to collect the hundreds of thousands of guns they’ve already banned — the police won’t do it unless they get a massive increase in their budget. Canada Post simply isn’t able to do it;, their substations aren’t secure enough, nor are their employees adequately trained or even bonded.”

Mauser said Thursday’s announcement didn’t come as much of a surprise.

“From my conversations with gun owners, they see the cynicism and desperation in this new Liberal gun ban — it seems to come directly out of the Liberal playbook,” he said.

“And they are placing a great deal of trust in (Conservative Party Leader Pierre) Poilievre to set things right. Poilievre has managed to swing a large number hunters, who were NDP members, to the Conservatives.”

Many questioned some of the firearms that were summarily banned on Thursday, including numerous .22 rifles that rarely, if ever, appear on the street as crime guns.

“These new measures make no sense to me from a public safety perspective,” Thurley said.

“Even if they were sensible or effective, which I do not for a moment believe, the government has little hope of collecting the newly-prohibited firearms from private owners before the next election.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

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