‘Merely a pause’: Shandro worried Ottawa will pursue firearms bill despite backtracking

Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says he believes the federal government still intends to pursue a ban on widely owned shotguns and rifles despite withdrawing controversial amendments to gun legislation.

Rural Canadians and hunters were in an uproar over the amendments because it would have added dozens of new semi-automatic rifles and shotguns to the list of banned firearms.

BACKGROUND: Liberals withdraw bill’s assault style firearm definition, promise more consultation

Shandro says firearms owners “breathed a sigh of relief” about the withdrawal of the amendments to Bill C-21.

But he says those hopes were dashed by a later statement from the public safety minister.

“Minutes later, 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 to ban shotguns and rifles commonly used by hunters, farmers, sport shooters and Indigenous Peoples in Canada,” Shandro 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.”

Shandro says Alberta has been “leading the charge” in opposing the Liberal government’s firearms ban.

“In September, Alberta announced it would challenge federal plans to conscript the RCMP to implement the firearms confiscation program,” Shandro said.

“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.”

Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights

The Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights welcomed the withdrawal of the amendment but added the entire bill needs to be scrapped.

“Probably half of the firearms in Canada would have been banned as soon as that law would have passed,” said the group’s CEO Rod Giltaca. “And then of course the language of variance. The RCMP could ban any gun that they think is related to one that’s already prohibited.”

Giltaca says while he’s opposed bill C-21, the open discussion has helped better public understanding of the issue.

“It’s a very complex issue for people that don’t know anything about it and it’s very easy for people to get on board with gun bans, because they’re like well ‘I don’t own a gun, nobody needs a gun obviously,’” he said. “If they don’t hear what we’re losing as society, of course it makes sense to them.”

Mendicino says the government is committed to coming up with “a clear, standard definition of what constitutes an assault-style firearm.”

The federal Conservatives have called the amendment an attack on farmers and hunters.

“That’s why today, today’s humiliating climb-down that we’ve forced Trudeau to make, it is a temporary pause in his plan to ban hunting rifles,” said Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Friday.