The Canadian prime minister said he hasn’t excluded the possibility of banning them outright.
The federal government is considering adopting measures that would see tighter controls applied to handguns and assault weapons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.
In a radio interview with 98.5FM in Montréal, the prime minister said the violence in Canada being linked to both types of weapons is unacceptable.
While Trudeau said that further limitations to those types of firearms were being considered, he didn’t exclude the possibility of banning them outright, except in the cases of authorized persons, such as police.
Earlier Thursday and on the same radio station, commentator Bernard Drainville said the Canadian government would be holding consultations on the issue and a decision would be made sometime after Christmas.
Bill C-71, which modifies certain firearms laws and regulations, is being studied by the Senate. Among other things, the proposed legislation calls for an improvement in background checks for those seeking to obtain firearms, improvements to the process of issuing firearms permits and the power to compel retailers to maintain records of firearms sales and inventories.
It is possible that the measures referred to Thursday by Trudeau could make their way into the new bill.
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