Concerns emerge over 'misleading' Canadian handgun import ban
CTV
Ottawa's plan to stop handgun imports into Canada has some gun owners and experts in Alberta calling it an overreach that could have unintended consequences.
Ottawa's plan to stop handgun imports into Canada has some gun owners and experts in Alberta calling it an overreach that could have unintended consequences.
Effective Aug. 19, the Canadian government will ban the importation of restricted handguns into the country. The ban is being pushed ahead without Parliament's approval and will instead use regulatory restrictions to make the policy change.
The measure is expected to prevent "nearly all" individuals and businesses from importing handguns into Canada, the government said Friday.
"This ban is a stopgap while the handgun freeze in its entirety moves through the parliamentary process, preventing shelves from being restocked in the immediate term," said Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.
When CTV News Edmonton asked what Dianne Harnois, owner of gun store P & D Enterprises, thought about the measure, she said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had "gone way too far."
"No matter what way he has to get it through, he is pushing it," Harnois said. "And in my personal opinion, I would tell him it is time to step down."
Doug King, Mount Royal University criminologist, says while the handgun ban may increase firearm interdictions at the border, the overall impact may not reduce gun violence on the street.
