OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada stated Thursday it’s outlawing one other 324 firearm varieties — weapons the general public security minister stated belong on the battlefield, not within the palms of hunters or sport shooters.
Ottawa additionally stated it’s working with the federal government of Ukraine to see how the weapons could be donated to help the battle towards Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The transfer follows the May 2020 ban of 1,500 makes and fashions of firearms, a quantity that grew to greater than 2,000 by November of this 12 months as new variants have been recognized.
The newest restriction, introduced Thursday by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, follows expressions of concern from gun-control advocates that many assault-style firearms weren’t included within the 2020 ban.
“This means these firearms can now not be used,” LeBlanc stated.
Defense Minister Bill Blair stated Canada approached Ukrainian authorities, who expressed curiosity in among the weapons.
“Every little bit of help we will provide to the Ukrainians is one step towards their victory,” Blair stated.
The federal authorities says it’s working with provinces, territories and police on a deliberate buyback of prohibited weapons from particular person house owners.
Mass shootings are comparatively uncommon in Canada, however the newly introduced measures come on the eve of the thirty fifth anniversary of the École Polytechnique in Montreal taking pictures, the place a gunman killed 14 ladies earlier than killing himself. The Ruger Mini-14 utilized by the gunman, Marc Lepine, was among the many weapons included within the 2020 ban.
Nathalie Provost, a survivor who was wounded within the assault, stated Thursday she was focused for being a lady finding out engineering.
“These are simply killing weapons, struggle weapons, navy weapons, so I’m proud we’re doing one thing,” Provost stated.
Canada has had far fewer mass shootings than the U.S. partially due to an absence of quick access to weapons, although the U.S. inhabitants additionally is much bigger than Canada’s. Officials have acknowledged weapons smuggled into Canada illegally are sometimes utilized by criminals.
Opposition Conservative chief Pierre Poilievre referred to as the announcement a “stunt” by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s authorities that assaults “licensed & law-abiding hunters and sport shooters.”
