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News > Canada

Canada's PM Bans the Use of Assault-Style Weapons Immediately

  • Trudeau announced the ban of over 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms.

    Trudeau announced the ban of over 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms. | Photo: AFP

Published 2 May 2020
Opinion

Trudeau announced the ban of over 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms and other weapons that have been used in a number of mass shootings in the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday that the country is banning the use and trade of assault-style weapons immediately.

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The move comes less than two weeks after Canada's deadliest rampage in modern history when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 22 people after a 12-hour reign of terror.

Trudeau announced the ban of over 1,500 models and variants of assault-style firearms, including two weapons used by the gunman as well as the AR-15 and other weapons that have been used in a number of mass shootings in the United States.

The premier said that "thoughts and prayers" for mass shooting victims were no longer enough and that is why his government has decided to act.

"You don't need an AR-15 to bring down a deer," Prime Minister added at a news conference in Ottawa. "So, effective immediately, it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons in this country."

Police said the gunman had several semi-automatic handguns and at least two semi-automatic rifles, one of which was described by witnesses as a military-style assault weapon.

"These weapons were designed for one purpose, and one purpose only, to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada," Trudeau said.

The ban is effective immediately but disposal of the weapons will be subject to a two-year amnesty period for current owners, and there will be a compensation program that will require a bill passed in Parliament.

Likewise, the Cabinet order doesn’t forbid owning any of the military-style weapons and their variants but it does ban the use and trade in them. 

In the meantime, they can be exported, returned to manufacturers, and transported only to deactivate them or get rid of them. In certain limited circumstances, they can be used for hunting.

Mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada, but Trudeau said that they are happening more frequently, so his government would introduce further gun control legislation prohibiting military-style assault weapons, a measure that had already been planned before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the current parliamentary session.

The legislation had been in the works for months after Trudeau promised during his reelection campaign in late 2019 to beef up gun control, especially for cities hard hit by gang violence.

So, Trudeau failed to make good on a 2015 election promise to restrict sales of assault weapons in Canada.

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