(OTTAWA) Indigenous leaders across the country are calling for weapons used by Indigenous peoples to support themselves to be removed from the banned weapons list. They passed a resolution for the First Nations Assembly (AFN) on Thursday to publicly oppose the C-21 Gun Control Act in its current form and to call for a number of changes.
Posted 4:50pm Updated 6:01pm
Bill C-21 “may criminalize long guns” used by Indigenous Peoples to “exercise their Aboriginal hunting rights and treaties,” the resolution said.
The AFN calls for wide consultation in line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and proposes five changes, including removing weapons used by Indigenous peoples from the banned weapons list.
The problem, according to Ghislain Picard, chief of the First Nations Congregation of Quebec and Labrador, is how the bill categorizes guns. “What weapons are we talking about? he asked.
The government tabled two last-minute amendments to Bill C-21 two weeks ago to expand the definition of a prohibited weapon and list just over 300 pages of models that would be prohibited.
The list includes SKS rifles, a military-style weapon popular with hunters, including Native Americans.
Although the government has said it is willing to amend the list to remove hunting weapons, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino gave the impression it would not be flexible for SKS rifles. He recalled that it was originally a weapon of war and that it was used to kill two police officers in South Simcoe County, Ontario, in October.
More details to come.