In their last legal chance to overturn Ottawa’s ban on assault-style firearms, opponents of the measure are bringing their case to the Supreme Court of Canada for a second day on Tuesday. “The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court in the land,” constitutional law expert Wayne MacKay told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday. “This is kind of the end of the line as far as the legal argument.” MacKay, a professor emeritus of law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says those legal arguments boil down to weighing individual rights against public safety concerns, as well as how the firearm ban was enacted, which was done via a cabinet decision rather than legislation. “They’re basing that on the general principle that large, important matters should be handled by legislation, rather than regulation done through cabinet,” MacKay said of those who oppose the ban. “But there are some arguments on the other side here. Regulations allow a lot more flexibility and… the argument is that it’s essential to do it by regulations so you can move quickly and respond to the real risk.” In May 2020, the federal government banned the use, sale and importation of 1,500 firearms models and variants, including the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which has been tied to numerous mass shootings in the U.S. The list of prohibited guns has since grown to more than 2,500 different varieties. “The government policy is to focus on assault-style weapons that are dangerous and really more appropriate for a military kind of setting,” MacKay explained. “That’s really the critical thing they debated: is it reasonable to use these kinds of weapons for hunting or sport activities where other options that are less dangerous to the public are available?” Under the federal ban, businesses and individuals who turn in or permanently deactivate their prohibited firearms are eligible for compensation while failing to do so could result in criminal prosecution. An amnesty period that was initially set to end on Oct. 30 has now been extended until 90 days after the Supreme Court delivers its final decision, which is expected no later than next year. The ban was previously upheld by a Federal Court judge and the Federal Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court will be hearing arguments on the matter for a second and final day on Tuesday. The appellants challenging the ban include the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, who are being supported by several groups, individuals and businesses, as well as the provincial governments in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario. “Really it’s a balancing exercise, individual rights on the one hand and the safety of the public on the other, and that’s really what the challengers are hoping [the court] will do differently this time,” MacKay said. “I think it’s partly a contrast between the U.S., with their right to bear arms and strong focus on individual rights, [but] Canada has a different kind of constitutional framework and is more inclined to balance towards protection of the larger public, and we’ll see if the Supreme Court continues that.” With files from The Canadian Press
