Canada introduces regulation to freeze handgun gross sales, ban look-alike toys

OTTAWA, Could 30 (Reuters) - Canada's authorities introduced legislation Monday to implement a "nationwide freeze" on the sale and purchase of handguns as part of a gun management package deal that will also limit magazine capacities and ban some toys that look like weapons.

The new laws, which resurrects some measures that have been shelved final 12 months amid a nationwide election, comes just a week after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in their classroom in Uvalde, Texas.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed reporters the new measures were wanted as gun violence was rising.

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"We need only look south of the border to know that if we do not take action firmly and rapidly it gets worse and worse and will get tougher to counter," he stated.

The handgun freeze would contain exceptions, including for elite sport shooters, Olympic athletes and safety guards. Canadians who already own handguns could be allowed to maintain them.

Authorities do not expect a run on handguns in anticipation of the freeze, in part as a result of they are so closely regulated already, an official said in a briefing.

Canada has stronger gun legislation than the USA however while its gun homicide fee is less than one-fifth the U.S. charge it is higher than that of different rich international locations and has been rising. In 2020 it was five occasions Australia's charge.

The speed in each of 2020 and 2017 was the country's highest since not less than 1997, in accordance with Statistics Canada.

Canada banned the sale and use of some 1,500 models of assault weapons, like the AR-15 rifle, two years in the past in the wake of a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia - a move some firearms homeowners say they are contesting in courtroom. Talking alongside Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino confirmed the "imminent launch of the initial part" of a program to purchase again and compensate homeowners of such weapons.

Whereas the Liberals have a minority of seats in Parliament, the legislation may cross with the assist of the left-leaning New Democratic Occasion.

The deliberate laws would forestall anybody subject to a protection order or who has engaged in home violence or stalking from acquiring or maintaining a firearms license.

It will also require long-gun magazines to be completely altered so they can by no means hold greater than five rounds and can ban the sale and switch of large-capacity magazines.

The new laws would also ban some toys that seem like actual guns, equivalent to airsoft rifles. Last week Toronto police shot and killed a man carrying a pellet gun. learn extra

"As a result of they appear the same as real firearms, police need to treat them as if they're actual. This has led to tragic penalties," Justice Minister David Lametti informed reporters.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed a number of the strikes, such as the "crimson flag" provisions in the case of home violence, and stated he would really like more data on enforcement and resources for measures such because the handgun freeze.

He fully supported a crackdown on fake guns, which he mentioned were a "large challenge."

"You cannot distinguish between what's a replica firearm and what's an actual firearm, notably when these incidences involving duplicate firearms occur often in very dynamic, shortly evolving circumstances."

Rod Giltaca, the pinnacle of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, said the handgun freeze was "absurd."

He mentioned authorities weren't using the tools they already had to deal with gun violence, corresponding to calling folks listed as references on gun license functions.

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Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Richard Pullin

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