'Groundswell of opposition': Firearms bill backtrack applauded by critics in Alberta, Ottawa
Alberta's justice minister is celebrating Friday's scrapped amendments to the federal firearms legislation, but Tyler Shandro believes more work needs to be done on Bill C-21.
The federal Liberal party withdrew a controversial amendment this week that introduced a new definition of an assault-style weapon.
That definition was drastically expanded to include semi-automatic rifles and shotguns with a capacity of more than five cartridges.
Shandro believes it would target the wrong people.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that further action will need to be taken to respond to the federal government’s hostility towards hunters, farmers, sport shooters and Indigenous Peoples," he said in a statement Friday.
The province is set to intervene in six ongoing lawsuits launched against the legislation.
They'll be heard in April.
"Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino released a statement on Twitter that made it clear the federal government’s decision to withdraw the amendments was merely a pause in their campaign," Shandro's statement said.
"Law-abiding firearms owners know that this is thinly worded code signalling Minister Mendicino’s intent to continue to pursue avenues to ban widely owned shotguns and rifles."
The Liberals say the bill will be amended once again after more consultation.
WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION
Bill C-21 was introduced last May.
It was originally an effort to enact a handgun sales ban and crack down on firearm smuggling.
But along the way, critics say its expanded scope has lessened the impact and instead targeted law-abiding Canadians.
The amendment with the new definition of an assault-style weapon was added to the bill at committee at the end of November, after the committee had finished debating the bill and hearing from witnesses.
NDP MP Alistair MacGregor said the amendment "derailed" all other progress on C-21.
"I've never seen such a groundswell of opposition come really from everywhere all at once," he said.
The recent amendments would have banned the weapons under the Criminal Code, which would have made the potential law more difficult for future governments to reverse.
"It is not our intention to impact those that are hunting and using firearms for hunting," government house leader Mark Holland said Friday.
"We acknowledge and regret that the consultations we undertook were not sufficient."
TARGETED
One Calgary business says the amendments still hurt its bottom line, despite not being passed.
"I would venture to guess 50 to 70 per cent of our inventory would have been prohibited," Shooting Edge general manager Steven Arena told CTV News.
"Every day, you do hear from customers who say, 'I would buy that if I wasn't afraid it would become prohibited.'
"Nobody has $3,000 to just waste on something that will make them a criminal in two months."
Arena called Friday's backtrack a small victory, but he still believes C-21 should be completely scrapped.
"The bill focuses strictly on legal gun ownership, and it will have zero impact on the safety of your community," he said.
"It won't make any difference, I guarantee it."
With files from the Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
BREAKING Police make arrests in grandparent scam that defrauded victims out of $739K
An interprovincial investigation into an 'emergency grandparents scam' that targeted seniors across Canada has led to the arrest of 14 suspects, Ontario Provincial Police say.
Motion to allow keffiyehs at Ontario legislature fails
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
'Wild, wild west.' Families say organs of deceased Alabama inmates have been removed without their consent
The state Department of Corrections and the University of Alabama at Birmingham face disturbing allegations from the families of five inmates whose organs were removed and reportedly kept without consent, according to a series of lawsuits.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Juror dismissed in Trump hush money trial as prosecutors ask for former president to face contempt
Prosecutors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.