Women’s groups criticize Liberals over delay of key firearms measure

Suzanne Zaccour, director of legal affairs for the National Association of Women and the Law, speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — More than a dozen women’s advocacy groups are denouncing what they call federal government inaction on a gun control measure designed to save lives.

In a statement issued today, the organizations chastise the Liberals for failing to bring into force a key provision in firearms legislation passed almost two years ago.

The measure would make anyone subject to a special legal order, often issued in domestic violence cases, ineligible to hold a firearms licence while the order is in effect.

The groups say the measure was meant to quickly remove firearms from the hands of abusers at the time when they are often the most dangerous.

The groups include the National Association of Women and the Law, Women’s Shelters Canada, YWCA Canada, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund.

They released the statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and less than two weeks before the anniversary of a gunman’s 1989 killing of 14 women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2025.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press