OTTAWA - A vocal gun lobby group was on Parliament Hill on Wednesday to criticize the Liberal Party’s recent campaign promises on strengthening gun control and to launch a new nationwide tour to promote their message of lawful private gun ownership.
The Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR) spent the first half of their press conference poking holes in the Liberal commitments, mainly the decision not to implement a national handgun ban but to instead prohibit "military-style" assault rifles, if re-elected.
"The Liberals have laid out a plan to take extreme action against Canadians who are responsible and legal firearm owners," said Rod Giltaca, the organization’s CEO. "They’ve marched out a one-sided narrative, and excluded stakeholders and experts on the firearm file."
Trudeau made the announcement on September 20 while also proposing new rules around firearm storage and a precautionary measure to flag bulk purchasing.
Since then, he and his team have repeated their claim that their proposed regulations will be the "strongest step in Canadian history" to mitigate gun violence and tighten laws. This included an appearance in Toronto on Tuesday with six mayors from the Greater Toronto Area who, when asked, all said they would support a national handgun ban.
Giltaca noted that the most relevant gun control legislation, known as Bill C-71 and implemented in March 2018 by then Liberal minister of public safety and emergency preparedness Ralph Goodale, does "nothing" to prevent the kind of shootings happening in urban centres.
The law more generally broadens background checks and requires retailers to keep records of gun sales. Critics say it doesn’t go far enough and in the right direction.
The CCFR – one of those critics – said they have no choice now but to go "engage with Canadians directly" to "tell the other side of the story."
"Today we will be launching the CCFR Integrity Tour. Mr. Giltaca and I will be driving a fully wrapped, 30-foot RV from Montreal to Regina, Saskatchewan inviting Liberal MPs, media, and everyday Canadians to chat with us," said the organization’s vice president of public relations Tracey Wilson.
Their first stop will be in the Liberal leader’s home riding of Papineau, Que., where they’ll park their vehicle plastered with an enhanced photo of Trudeau and the words “Liberal Failure” on the side.
In an email to CTVNews.ca, Bill Blair, the minister responsible for tackling organized crime, responded to the CCFR announcement with a more generalized statement about his party’s attempts to find a balance between more restrictive gun laws in Canada and respecting the rights of lawful firearm owners.
"…Canadians want action. We will ban all military-style assault rifles, including the AR-15, and we will work with the provinces and territories to give municipalities the ability to further restrict — or ban — handguns. But we’ll always protect the rights of law-abiding hunters, who do not use or need assault weapons."
