Vancouver Sun ePaper

Gun-ban overreach backfires

TASHA KHEIRIDDIN

Will the Liberals' new gun policy shoot the government in the foot? Bill C-21 is a sweeping new law designed to “eradicate gun violence once and for all,” in the words of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. Originally designed to target handguns, it has been amended to prohibit a wide range of weapons, including any hunting rifle or shotgun that could be fitted with a magazine. This has not only angered the Conservatives, but also the NDP, as well as hunting associations and their supporters.

On Saturday, Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price posted a picture to Instagram in full camo gear, cradling a hunting rifle and captioned, “I am not a criminal or a threat to society.” As of Tuesday morning, it had 105,000 likes. (The Canadiens subsequently issued an apology, as the post fell on the eve of the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, when 14 young women were killed and 13 others injured with an assault rifle at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989, which Price later acknowledged he knew about.)

Following Price's post, Conservative MPs Raquel Dancho and Rob Moore lambasted Mendicino in question period, thundering that “It seems the only person in this chamber that does not understand this bill is the minister himself.” Across the aisle, NDP MP Charlie Angus, who represents a northern Ontario riding, tweeted that the law had “morphed into a massive overreach,” and described the Liberals' amendment as “hugely problematic and must be fixed.”

Gun legislation is political dynamite — and the Liberals know it. They have used the issue as a wedge in previous elections, including the 2021 vote. While running for Tory leader, Erin O'Toole promised to reverse the Liberals' 2020 ban on “assaultstyle” weapons, including the AR-15 rifle, which had been used to murder 26 adults and children in the Sandy Hook school shooting. During the election, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau countered, “You do not need an AR-15 to take down a deer.” O'Toole found himself on the hot seat in urban and suburban ridings, where the very word “gun” conjures up visions of mass murder, gang violence and home invasions.

It is no accident that the Liberals are pushing Bill C-21 while they are fighting a Dec. 12 byelection in the suburban GTA riding of Mississauga-Lakeshore. They are not only attempting to take votes from the Tories but also from the NDP, by raising doubts about both parties' commitment to public safety.

How could the Conservatives counter this charge? By taking a truly conservative stance on gun policy, one rooted in the principle of local government. Governing “closest to the people” has been a principle of conservatism since the days of Edmund Burke. Since the reality of gun ownership is vastly different in urban and rural settings, firearms regulations should respect that. Instead of a “one size fits all” policy, gun policy should be decided at the local level.

Allowing municipalities to elect to keep certain types of guns out of its boundaries would allow voters to have control. Municipal elections could even be tied to referendums on the issue, giving citizens even more of a say.

Gun owners already have to register their firearms, making it simple to regulate which guns are permitted where.

The Federal Firearms Act and Criminal Code would have to be amended to allow for this change or to devolve these powers. As for the federal government, its role would be to prevent illegal importation of guns into the country — something the current bill fails to do. Indeed, for a bill that supposedly wants to increase public safety, Bill C-21 falls woefully short. In its written submission to Parliament, the National Police Federation stated “Bill C-21 does not address criminal activity, illegal firearms proliferation, gang crime, illegal guns crossing the border or criminal use of firearms.”

With so many Canadians angered by the Liberals' overreach, the time is ripe for an alternative approach. If they were smart, the Conservatives would turn this wedge on its head — and hoist the Liberals on their own petard.

OPINION

en-ca

2022-12-07T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-07T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://vancouversun.pressreader.com/article/281638194238765

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