Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday 31 May a project to “national handgun ownership freeze”after the recent killings in the neighboring United States.
This project must be submitted to Parliament where the Liberal Party of Justin Trudeau is in the minority.
“We are introducing legislation to enforce a nationwide freeze on handgun ownership”declared the Prime Minister during a press conference, which he gave in the company of several dozen relatives of victims of armed violence.
“This means that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada”he added.
Canada had already banned 1,500 models of military-style firearms after a killing in April 2020, the worst in the country’s historywhich killed 23 people in Nova Scotia (east).
Handguns illegally imported from the United States
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino estimates that about one million handguns are circulating in the country, many of which are illegally imported from the United States.
“Armed violence is a complex problem”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 added.
This announcement comes after the massacre at the school in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children aged 9 to 11 and two teachers perished under the bullets of a teenager who legally bought an assault rifle.
The Canadian bill also plans to prevent anyone involved in domestic violence from obtaining a gun license, and to toughen penalties for gun trafficking. Rifle magazines that can hold more than five bullets will also be prohibited.
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