The Canadian Prime Minister presented on Monday a plan for a “national freeze on the possession of handguns”.
Concretely, if this legislation is validated by Parliament, it means “that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada”, specifies Justin Trudeau.
The Canadian bill also plans to prevent anyone involved in domestic violence from obtaining a gun license, tougher penalties for gun trafficking and banning gun magazines that can hold more than five bullets.
Fewer guns, more security
“Gun violence is a complex issue,” said Justin Trudeau.
"But at the end of the day, the math is actually quite simple: the fewer guns there are in our communities, the safer everyone will be," he told a press conference. which comes after the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas.
Canada had already banned 1,500 models of military-style firearms after a killing in April 2020, the worst in the country's history, which left 23 dead in Nova Scotia (east).
According to official statistics, firearms are involved in only 3% of violent crime in Canada.
“The real problem in this country is the gangs”
Justin Trudeau's proposal was criticized by the Conservative opposition.
"The real problem in this country is not the law-abiding gun owners, who are tightly regulated and tightly controlled," said John Brassard, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, at Radio Canada.
“The real problem in this country is gangs and criminals importing guns, mostly from the United States, and using illegal weapons on our streets,” he added.
Indeed, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino estimates that around one million handguns are circulating in the country, many of which are illegally imported from the United States.
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