Handguns: Canada’s new bill proposes complete freeze on ownership

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government on Monday introduced legislation that would put a national freeze on importing, buying or selling handguns.

It is reported that the bill would also allow for the removal of gun licences from people involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment, such as stalking.

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The government also plans to fight gun smuggling and trafficking by increasing criminal penalties, providing more tools to investigate firearms crimes and strengthening border measures.

The bill would create a new “red flag” law allowing courts to require that people considered a danger to themselves or others surrender their firearms to police. The government said the measure would guard the safety of those applying through the process, often women in danger of domestic abuse, by protecting their identities.

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The government said it will require rifle magazines to be permanently altered so they can never hold more than five rounds and will ban the sale and transfer of large-capacity magazines under the Criminal Code.

Trudeau has long had plans to enact tougher gun laws but the introduction of the new potential law comes after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, N.Y., this month.

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Canada already has stricter rules on gun ownership than its southern neighbour and records fewer firearm incidents every year.

For instance, all guns must be kept locked and unloaded and anyone wishing to buy a firearm must undergo extensive background checks.

But there have been calls in recent years to tighten gun legislation there even further, especially following a number of deadly shootings.

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In April 2020, a gunman posing as a police officer killed as many as 22 people during a shooting spree in Nova Scotia – the deadliest in Canada’s history.

Within days, Trudeau announced an immediate ban on 1,500 different kinds of military-grade and assault-style weapons.

The new bill would effectively limit the number of legally-owned handguns in Canada to present levels.