The rise in firearm crimes in Montreal and elsewhere in the country is forcing the federal government to temporarily ban imports of restricted handguns beginning August 19.
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This ban is temporary because the handgun control bill C-21 has not yet passed the Ottawa legislature.
The ban, announced on Friday by Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, will remain in effect until Law C-21 is passed.
“We must prevent dealers selling handguns from really filling their shelves while at the same time trying to restrict firearms and handguns in our communities,” Minister Joly said.
This announcement follows an investment of nearly $42 million by the federal government, announced the day before, to support projects that raise awareness of gun violence in local and Aboriginal communities.
PolySeSouvist is thrilled
For PolySeSouvient, “This is an important and innovative move that will undoubtedly slow the expansion of the Canadian handgun market.”
This new ban will not curb the spread of handguns among the population overnight, as pointed out by PolySeSouvient’s Nathalie Provost.
Since Bill C-21 was introduced last May, a veritable rush for handguns has been underway, with authorized sellers struggling to keep up with demand.
A Statistics Canada study released in late May shows that “for most violent crimes committed with firearms, handguns were the most dangerous weapon at the scene, both from 2009-2014 (59%) and from 2015-2020 (59%)”.
- Listen to Alexandre Dubé’s interview with Paul Laurier, ex-cop and president of the security company Vigiteck, on Radio QUB: