Handgun Sale Ban Now Officially in Effect in Canada

Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 4, 2022. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

The buying, selling, and transferring of new handguns in Canada is now officially outlawed, according to a cabinet order made Nov. 9 under the Firearms Act.

The order comes after the federal government announced a “freeze” on handgun importations in August and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino saying on Oct. 21 that the ban was in effect.

Applications to transfer the guns received prior to yesterday’s deadline will still be processed, said Mendocino’s department, albeit at a much slower rate than normal due to backlogs.

“The Canadian Firearms Program is experiencing significant delays in processing times and has many requests that are awaiting a decision,” wrote the Public Safety Department in a recent “Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement,” according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

“Amendments will provide provisions to allow transfer requests received prior to the coming into force date to continue to be processed, limiting the impact on these individuals.”

The handgun freeze is authorized under pending legislation outlined in Bill C-21, which seeks to make a number of amendments to both the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called C-21 “one of the strongest actions we’ve taken on gun violence in a generation.”

“We have frozen the market for handguns in this country,” Trudeau said during a press conference in Surrey, B.C., on Oct. 21.

Bill C-21 is currently undergoing a House of Commons committee review.

Criticism

The Liberals’ handgun ban has received criticism from a number of policing organizations across Canada, with officials from the Toronto, Edmonton, and Regina police forces expressing doubts about the legislations’ effectiveness.

“Freezing the importation of legal firearms does nothing to stop the flow of the illegal ones,” said Toronto Police Association president Jon Reid in a previous interview with The Epoch Times.

Both the Regina and Edmonton Police Service chiefs told parliamentary committees in October that the handgun ban doesn’t effectively target the illegal flow of firearms, which they said has the greatest impact on crime rates.

“[It’s] illegal firearms, illegal handguns, obtained from the United States that have led to the disturbing current trend in gun violence,” said Regina Police Service Chief Evan Bray while testifying before the House of Commons public safety committee on Oct. 27.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) said in June that it overall supports the handgun ban, but also said that “restricting lawful handgun ownership will not meaningfully address the real issue.”

In a statement, the CACP called for “intensified border controls” to help stop the illegal flow of firearms into Canada from the U.S.

In February, the public safety committee heard from the national president of the Customs and Immigration Union that just “one-millionth of all rail cargo” is inspected when crossing the border.

“In other words, there’s almost a zero percent chance that any illegal weapons entering the country via rail will ever be found,” said Mark Weber in his testimony on Feb. 1.

Trudeau said on Oct. 21 that the federal government is making investments to help the Canadian Border Security Agency better search cargo before it enters Canada.

“Our Liberal government is reinforcing our borders and giving law enforcement the tools and resources they need to stop illegal gun smuggling,” he said.

Rachel Emmanuel contributed to this report.