1670420801 Bill C 21 The powerful NRA is trying to invite itself

Bill C-21: The powerful NRA is trying to invite itself into the debate

Business News / By /

Amid the debate over gun control, the National Rifle Association (NRA), that powerful American pro-gun lobby, has been attempting to enter the debate in Canada for several months.

• Also read: Carey Price knew about Polytechnique tragedy and apologizes

• Also read: What guns could be banned in Canada? 4 questions to better understand Bill C-21

• Also read: Polytechnique Massacre: It’s important for Carey Price (and everyone) to remember

For months, the American organization has been warning us of “Trudeau’s real plan,” which would seek to “finally ban all firearms” with Bill C-21.

The law is also opposed by the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights (CCFR), which supported Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price in a controversial publication.

This organization is in an uproar after using the promo code “Poly” to offer discounts on items for sale on their website a few days before the 33rd anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre.

An “unconstitutional” draft law?

On February 22, 2021, when the previous version of the federal law was introduced, the NRA protested an “irrational,” “unconstitutional” process designed to criminalize honest gun owners.

More recently, in a June 20 statement, the NRA argued that Bill C-21 could not help fight crime because “criminals and other gangs don’t bother with permits to get the funds needed for their crimes.”

To this lobby, the Trudeau administration’s bill will only eliminate the “right to possess a legal gun” for the good citizen.

Since the second half of the summer, the NRA, which accuses the Trudeau government of bypassing Parliament to study its C-21 bill, has published numerous press releases and texts on the C-21 bill on its website, including the most recent dated last weekend.

A collection of NRA publications related to Bill C-21.

Screenshot NRAILA.ORG

A collection of NRA publications related to Bill C-21.

The NRA is stretching out its tentacles here

As the Associated Press (AP) reports, NRA leaders have often visited Canada to speak out against gun restrictions, which they said interfere with “citizens’ right to bear arms.”

But unlike the US – and its Second Amendment – this “right” does not exist in Canada.

When Canada first tried restricting access to guns in the 1990s, the organization took great advantage of reaching out to gun lobbies in Canada like the CCFR, according to the AP. Over the years, the NRA would have even offered them logistical and technical support.

The CCFR is trying to imitate the NRA?

NRA practices and discourse may have inspired the CCFR. His spokeswoman Tracey Wilson, for example, recently called on Canadians to flood the constituency offices of elected Liberals with letters to bring down Bill C-21.

In the same Nov. 24 publication, she also has a special request for gun owners: “Look at each of the guns [que vous possédez] and reflect on what he means to you, the memories you made with him and the adventures you’ve had together.”

In various communications, the CCFR also makes the same arguments against Bill C-21 as the NRA, notably that it does not address the arms trade and that its passage could lead to the banning of legal gun ownership in the country.

Keep in mind that Bill C-21 is still under investigation and therefore changes are possible at any time. However, the bill has already garnered the support of enough MPs to pass without amendment.