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New firearms legislation being introduced to strengthen gun laws in Canada

New legislation is being proposed that would see gun laws in Canada tightened.

Public Safety Canada announced today that due to the steady increase in gun violence in communities over the past five years, they are proposing new legislation to prioritize public safety.

<who>Photo Credit: File photo

Gun-related homicides, domestic and gender-based violence involving guns, criminal gang activity, and gun thefts are all up significantly.

“While Canada is one of the safest countries in the world, increased gun crime has caused too much violence and taken too many lives in communities of all kinds,” said Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety.

“It has tragically claimed innocent bystanders, children and police officers from coast to coast. With this legislation and our other measures, we are taking concrete steps to make our country less vulnerable to the scourge of gun violence, while being fair to responsible, law-abiding firearms owners and businesses.”

The new legislation proposes to standardize retailer records of inventory and sales that would be available to police on reasonable grounds, and to require transportation authorization when moving restricted or prohibited guns.

The legislation would restore a system where Parliament defines the classes but entrusts expertly in the RCMP to classify firearms without political influence.

Background checks for people wanting to purchase firearms would also be enhanced by eliminating the provision that focuses checks on the five years before the license application.

The Government of Canada has promised that the new legislation does not include a federal long-gun registry.

According to Statistics Canada, there were 2,465 criminal violations involving firearms in 2016, an increase of 30% since 2013. There are more than 500 gun-related suicides each year, which are often young people.



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