(Ottawa) The Office of Public Safety Secretary Marco Mendicino wants to “set the record straight” on Bill C-21 by first clarifying that the gun photographed with Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will remain legal. He incidentally demands an apology from the CCFR, a pro-gun group, for exploiting the Polytechnique tragedy.
Posted 12:28pm Updated 1:13pm
“When it comes to the debate about how to address gun violence, facts count. First, the firearm depicted in Carey Price’s publication is not currently banned and will remain legal,” the Minister’s press secretary, Audrey Champoux, wrote in an email.
“Our legislation does not target firearms commonly used for hunting and we fully respect the traditions of hunters and indigenous peoples,” she added, accusing conservative politicians and pro-gun groups of “sowing fear.” ‘ rather than ‘joining the debate’.
It is a 12-gauge gun with a detachable magazine, according to analysis of the photo by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) over the weekend. However, a more precise identification is not possible because the goalkeeper covers the deduction section with his hands.
The minister’s office provided the comments in response to the star goalkeeper’s remarkable departure.
“I love my family, I love my country and I take care of my neighbors. I am not a criminal or a threat to society. What Justin Trudeau is trying to do is unfair,” the athlete wrote on Instagram on Saturday.
Apologies to the CCFR
The goaltender also supports the Canadian Coalition for Gun Rights (CCFR) in his publication, in which he appears in camouflage, hunting gun in hand.
The lobby group recently raised eyebrows after doing it used the promotional code “Poly” to purchase merchandise on its website in the run-up to the 33rd anniversary of the mass murder of women.
“I feel a little sick at heart. It’s disgusting,” responded Nathalie Provost, survivor of the massacre, in an interview.
Minister Mendicino’s office saw this as a new high of indecency (“reached a new low”, as the phrase is more accurately used)
“To make such an advertisement on the eve of the anniversary of the tragedy that claimed the lives of 14 women is disgusting and reprehensible. We ask you to apologize,” it was decided.
CCFR Vice President for Public Relations Tracey Wilson assured The Canadian Press that the promotion was not related to the tragedy.
She justified herself by targeting Polysesouvient, the Polytechnique undergraduate and graduate group for weapons control that the agency said would have qualified her organization’s followers as armed trolls.
Carey Price’s news comes three days after December 6th.
Changes to the list?
The ground has already been mined for the production of Bill C-21 on Ottawa Hill.
However, the addition of Liberal amendments during their study in committee has set things on fire so much that the Trudeau government used a “planted” question in the Commons last week to defend itself.
The controversial changes concern the specifications added to the definition of prohibited firearms.
Semi-automatic weapons, including shotguns, whose magazine can be converted to hold more than five rounds would be banned, as would those capable of firing projectiles with a muzzle energy of more than 10,000 joules, and those with an inner barrel surface of 20 millimeters or more.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while reaffirming his government’s intention to ban models of weapons designed to inflict large numbers of casualties in tragedies like the Polytechnique, did not close the door on Monday to a review of the lengthy list of weapons.
“We are consulting Canadians on this. We know there are many concerns from hunters. […] We want to make sure we’re not including weapons that are primarily hunting weapons,” he said on the sidelines of an Ontario announcement.
Conservatives enthusiastic, bloc members not
The Conservative Party, which opposes the law vigorously, quickly took over Carey Price’s publication.
Among others, its leader Pierre Poilievre welcomed the position of the Aboriginal ice hockey player whose career has been put on hold by a knee injury.
“Carey is absolutely right. Hunting is a great Canadian tradition. The attempts to [Justin] Trudeau’s decision to ban shotguns is an attack on rural and indigenous peoples,” he said.
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, saw things differently.
The training manager, who is C-21 for Bill, suggested that the athlete was screwed like others before him.
“Carey Price and so many others are convinced that the purpose or effect of gun control is to harm sport hunting. It is wrong. The Block of Quebec promotes sport hunting and the tourist/economic activity it generates in our regions,” he wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
The Standing Committee on Public and National Security will meet on Tuesday, the 33rd anniversary of the Polytechnique tragedy, to continue its work on C-21.
With Mylene Crest