OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government announced on Thursday that it will be prohibiting an additional 324 types of firearms, which the public safety minister described as weapons that should be confined to battlefields rather than in the possession of hunters and sport shooters.
In conjunction with this decision, Ottawa revealed its collaboration with Ukraine to explore the potential donation of these firearms as support in the ongoing struggle against Russia’s military actions in the region.
This latest action follows the significant firearms ban enacted in May 2020, which initially prohibited 1,500 makes and models. By November, this total had increased to over 2,000, as authorities identified additional variants of firearms that posed concerns.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc emphasized that the new restriction means these particular firearms can no longer be utilized. This announcement addresses long-standing worries voiced by gun-control advocates regarding the absence of many assault-style weapons from the earlier ban.
Defense Minister Bill Blair confirmed that discussions with Ukrainian officials had conveyed their interest in certain firearms to support their defense efforts. He expressed the sentiment that any aid Canada can provide is a step towards assisting Ukraine in achieving victory.
The federal government is also collaborating with provincial authorities and law enforcement agencies to establish a program for the buyback of prohibited firearms from private owners.
Although mass shootings occur infrequently in Canada, the timing of these new regulations is significant, as it coincides with the 35th anniversary of the tragic École Polytechnique shooting in Montreal, where a gunman killed 14 women before taking his own life. The Ruger Mini-14, the weapon used by Marc Lepine in that incident, was part of the initial 2020 ban.
Nathalie Provost, a survivor of the tragedy who sustained injuries during the attack, spoke out on Thursday about her experiences, noting that she was targeted for being a woman in engineering. “These are just killing weapons, war weapons, military weapons, so I’m proud we are doing something,” she stated.
While Canada experiences far fewer mass shootings compared to the U.S., partly due to more restrictive gun access, officials recognize that smuggled firearms often find their way into the hands of criminals within Canada.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the recent announcements, labeling them as a “stunt” orchestrated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration, which he claims unfairly targets licensed and law-abiding hunters and sport shooters.
