Feds introducing new gun-related legislation to combat gun violence

The federal government has announced new legislation intended to help prevent gun violence, while also protecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

As part of the new legislation, the government announced new “red flag” and “yellow flag” laws, which will allow concerned friends or relatives to apply to the courts for the immediate removal of an individual’s firearms, as well as to ask a Chief Firearms Officer to suspend and review an individual’s licence to own firearms.

The government also announced it will be working to stop guns from being illegally brought into the country by increasing criminal penalties, and enhancing the capacity of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Additionally, the new legislation would impose federal penalties, including licence revocation and criminal sanctions, on those who violate municipal by-laws that ban handguns through restricting storage and transportation.

Further, the government will be moving forward with a complete ban on assault-style guns, which will not be permitted to be legally used, transported, sold, transferred, or bequeathed by individuals in Canada—for those who already own such guns, the Government intends to launch a buyback program in the coming months to facilitate the safe removal of them.

“One Canadian killed by gun violence is one too many. The tragedies we have seen in Ste-Foy and Portapique, and more recently in Toronto and Montréal, should never happen. This is why our government has taken some of the strongest action in our country’s history against gun violence,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a news release.

We will continue to take steps to strengthen gun control measures, remove dangerous weapons from our streets, and make sure everyone can feel safe from violence,” he continued.