By Oluwaseun Sonde
The Government of Canada has announced temporary importation of handguns to the country so as to keep firearms off the street and keep the Communities safe, taking effect from August 19, 2022, and will last until the national freeze comes into force.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly and Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino made the announcement in a statement released on Friday, which will help bring ultimate impact of the national handgun freeze into force sooner.
Recalled that the Canadian Government introduced Bill C-21 which addresses the alarming role of guns in gender based violence, gets tough on organized crime and most significantly introduces a national freeze on the sale, and ownership transfer of handguns, anywhere in the country.
This temporary ban means that individuals and businesses will no longer be able to import handguns into Canada, subject to narrow exceptions that mirror those in Bill C-21, with ultimate impact of the national handgun freeze into force sooner.
According to the statement, "No single program or initiative can tackle the challenge of gun violence on its own. That is why Bill C-21 and the national freeze on handguns are two of the many elements in the Government’s comprehensive plan to keep Canadians safe.
"This begins at our borders, where we’ve added resources to fight smuggling and stop guns from coming into Canada. We’re also investing in prevention programs to tackle the root causes of gun crime and stop it before it starts.
"Finally, we banned assault-style weapons like AR-15s, and will soon begin a buyback program to get these weapons of war out of our communities once and for all", the statement said.
The Foreign Affairs Minister said, "We know that one Canadian killed by gun violence is one too many. As a government, it is our duty to ensure that Canada remains one of the safest places to live in the world.
"The import ban announced today will help to keep guns stay off our streets as we work towards implementing Bill C-21, reducing gun violence in the immediate term".
In the same vein, Public Safety Minister said, "My top priority as Minister is keeping Canadians safe in their communities. Today’s announcement is further proof that we are using all tools at our disposal to fight gun crime in this country.
"It is a key pillar of our plan to address it, along with investments in prevention, action at our borders, a ban on assault-style weapons and Bill C-21 – Canada’s most significant action on gun violence in a generation.”
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