By Canadian Press

Trudeau announces ban on 1,500 types of ‘military-style’ guns

May 1, 2020 | 9:30 AM

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is banning a range of assault-style guns, with an order that takes effect immediately.

The cabinet order he describes doesn’t forbid owning any of 1,500 ‘military-style’ weapons and their variants but it does ban the trade in them.

Trudeau says the order has a two-year amnesty period for current owners, and there will be a compensation program that will require a bill passed in Parliament.

In an announcement this morning, he cites numerous mass shootings, from Ecole Polytechnique in 1989 to the killings in Nova Scotia last week, as the reasons for the move.

Stricter controls on firearms were a promise in the Liberals’ election campaign platform last fall.

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Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says guns that have no use in sport shooting have been a growing part of the Canadian market.

“Justin Trudeau is using the current pandemic and the immediate emotion of the horrific attack in Nova Scotia to push the Liberals’ ideological agenda and make major firearms policy changes. That is wrong,” Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said in a statement.

“The Trudeau Liberals have made it clear throughout this crisis that they do not respect the democratic role of Parliament. That cannot continue. If the Prime Minister has the strength of his convictions, he should wait until the health crisis has passed and introduce legislation in the House of Commons, so that it can be debated, and Canadians’ voices can be heard.”

Scheer added, “The reality is, the vast majority of gun crimes are committed with illegally obtained firearms. Nothing the Trudeau Liberals announced today addresses this problem.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2020.

The Canadian Press