Liberals defend revised attempt to amend gun bill to ban future assault-style firearms

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino was on the defensive on Tuesday over his revised approach to federal gun control legislation, saying the proposed definition banning future assault-style firearms rather than targeting those currently on the market was not "invented out of thin air."

"The goal is to make sure that we are, as I said yesterday, shrinking the ground … underneath criminals’ feet who may try to use an AR15-style gun to commit a mass shooting," Mendicino said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Mendicino announced a revised package of amendments to the government's contentious Bill C-21, including a proposed new Criminal Code "technical definition" of what constitutes a prohibited assault-style firearm meant to "cement in law" a permanent ban on new assault-style firearms.

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The federal government's wording would cover firearms that are not a handgun, that discharge centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner, and were originally designed with a detachable magazine with a capacity of six cartridges or more.

"That is, like, not a definition that the government has just invented out of thin air, but rather by consulting extensively with law enforcement who support it, with advocacy groups who support it," Mendicino told reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday.

“As a lawmaker in this space, we have a very solid foundation on which we can say: ‘This policy, when added to the existing Order in Council and the action we’re going to take on large-capacity magazines, provides a very robust and strong and comprehensive ban on AR15-style firearms."

However, the definition the Liberals are trying to stitch in to Bill C-21 is being framed as "prospective," meaning it would only apply to future firearms designed and manufactured after Bill C-21 becomes law, and not any guns currently on the market.

Bill C-21 was first tabled in May 2022. But, what started as legislation focused on reducing the number of firearms in circulation in Canada by tightening gun laws to include "red flag" provisions and restricting legal access to handguns, is still being evolved by the Liberals to include more gun control changes.

After withdrawing an initial amendment package in February that sparked considerable backlash last fall due largely to trying to inject an "evergreen" definition for assault-style weapons that would have prohibited hundreds of gun models, including some commonly used for sport and hunting, the legislation had been languishing as the Liberals reconsidered their approach.

The minister said in unveiling it that his newly-revealed "package of reforms" was informed by consultations done over the last few months with a range of stakeholders, from gun violence victims to Indigenous hunters.

However, almost as quickly as Mendicino revealed this new approach, did both pro-gun control groups and the Conservatives balk at what's been put on the table.

Vocal gun control group PolySeSouvient called Mendicino's proposed definition "worse than inadequate" as it doesn't capture currently-available assault-style guns, adding that it was "a gift to the gun lobby and to Pierre Poilievre and his Conservative Party, who will have an easy time reversing this less-than-half-measure."

The Conservatives took a different view of the Liberal plan.

"To be clear, the 'new' Liberal definition is the same as the old one. It is important to note that the power to ban additional firearms by adding them to the May 2020 OIC list remains in force, and commonly used hunting firearms, like the SKS, will likely be added to this list… Hunters, farmers, Indigenous Canadians, and sport shooters will not be fooled," said the party's public safety critic Raquel Dancho in a statement on Monday.

WHAT OTHER GUN POLICY CHANGES PROPOSED?

According to senior officials who briefed reporters on the package of amendments and separate regulatory changes ahead surrounding firearm classifications and magazine capacities, the proposed plain-language definition would not cover models like the SKS.

Work considering whether to roll in firearms already on the market is being put on another plank of Mendicino's latest gun control measure package. The government announced Monday it will also be reconstituting a federal firearms advisory committee to independently review the classification of existing firearms and advise the minister on whether more guns currently on the market should be restricted.

The government is vowing to appoint this new committee "with a diverse membership" aimed at tamping down the politicization and polarization surrounding the gun control debate within 60 days and ask the panel to report back with firearm classification recommendations by the end of August.

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told reporters on Tuesday that there will "obviously" be more work to do as "there are some rifles that are not yet prohibited, were not prohibited in the Order in Council that we brought into place three years ago."

Blair pointed to the new panel as the venue for this work to take place.

Asked to comment on the immediate reaction from gun control advocates, Mendicino said Tuesday that he has "nothing but the utmost respect and empathy" for those whose lives have been impacted by gun violence and that it’s their advocacy that has contributed to the government's plans to "strengthen" Bill C-21 to target AR15-style firearms.

"I respect the fact that they want to push this government to go as far as we possibly can. We have gone further than any government in the history of this country," he said.

Overall, Mendicino said this revised approach builds on the Liberal government's initial move to prohibit 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms in May 2020 through an Order in Council. 

The Liberals are also proposing to further amend Bill C-21 to require a parliamentary review of the technical definition five years after it comes into effect; reintroduce changes meant to make it illegal to make or buy ghost guns; and inject wording in the bill making clear the government's intent to uphold Indigenous treaty rights.

Asked if he's expecting a different response to the government’s gun bill amendments this time, Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller told reporters on Tuesday that he thinks the latest approach will answer "a number" of the concerns raised by Indigenous groups.

"The right to hunt isn’t embodied in any particular model or model number, and I think that is where a number of the challenges are," Miller said.

BILL C-21 AMENDMENTS GO TO COMMITTEE

Liberal MPs began moving government amendments to Bill C-21 at the House Public Safety and National Security Committee on Tuesday afternoon, where clause-by-clause consideration of the bill has resumed.

Mendicino has indicated that he's secured the backing of the Bloc Quebecois and New Democrats to see his desired changes to Bill C-21 pass, despite the Conservative opposition.

Once the committee completes its review of Bill C-21, the amended version will be put back before the House of Commons for more debate, before being sent to the Senate for further scrutiny.

"I am cautiously optimistic that with the support of the NDP and the Bloc that these proposals are going to become law and by doing so, will save lives," Mendicino said Tuesday.

As the committee began considering a series of changes to Bill C-21, NDP MP Peter Julian said he thinks the legislation is something “we need to move forward on.”

Conservative MP Glen Motz said on his way in to Tuesday’s meeting that he’d still like to see the Liberals scrap the legislation entirely.

Through his explanation and defence of Bill C-21’s latest edition, Mendicino also repeatedly noted that what's on the table aligns with the series of federal gun control recommendations contained in March's Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission final report, including revoking firearms licences for anyone convicted of gender-based, intimate partner or family violence.

The commissioners also wanted to see the federal government prohibit all semi-automatic handguns and all semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that discharge centre-fire ammunition and that are designed to accept detachable magazines with capacities of more than five rounds.

Also chiming in on the accusations that the Liberals have watered down its gun control plans, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said what the Liberals have done on gun control is "significant" while accusing the Conservatives of trying to weaken Canada’s laws. “That’s what it comes down to,” he said.