The following letter was submitted to PrinceGeorgeMatters by Bob Zimmer, Conservative MP for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies and Shadow Minister for Northern Affairs and Northern Economic Development Agency.
I am strongly opposed to Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government’s decision to impose this ban through an Order in Council.
Canadians have been very clear.
They want action on crime, gangs and illegal firearms.
That is why an e-petition that opposed using an Order in Council to ban firearms became the most-signed e-petition in Canadian history. We have an outdoor community who safely utilize their firearms daily without incident.
Yet this Prime Minister and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair would rather target us than real criminals.
While it may be harder to go after gangs and illegally trafficked firearms, that is precisely what this government should be doing. The fact is the vast majority of firearms owners respect Canada’s firearms laws and are checked daily through the Canadian Firearms Program. Making law-abiding Canadians follow more rules will not make communities safer.
As I have said before, the number one priority of any government should be the safety of Canadians and focusing on concrete action that will keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals. This includes support for police anti-gang and gun units, a CBSA Firearms Smuggling Task Force and tougher sentences for violent offenders. I will also continue to push for the repeal of Bill C-71.
From adding a back door registry that only punishes the law-abiding firearms community, to now a broad-based firearms ban, it will only get much worse under this Prime Minister and this Liberal government.
It’s time for a government that supports our Canadian law-abiding outdoor community. Period.
A list of the newly banned firearms can be found here: http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2020/2020-05-01-x3/html/sor-dors96-eng.html
