Canada moves to toughen gun laws

In wake of the mass shooting in Texas, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has introduced legislation that would freeze private ownership of all handguns at present levels, the most ambitious effort to restrict firearms access in Canada in 40 years.

The legislation presented to the Canadian Parliament on Monday makes it impossible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in the country. It would not ban the ownership of handguns outright, but would make it illegal to buy them.

"One Canadian killed by gun violence is one too many," said Trudeau in a statement on Monday.

The proposal would also create a new red flag law, which would allow a court to prohibit people deemed a threat from owning firearms. It would take away the firearms licenses of those involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment and fight gun smuggling and trafficking by increasing criminal penalties.

Trudeau's office said the handgun freeze will prevent individuals from bringing newly acquired handguns into the country or from buying, selling, or transferring firearms. Canada reported 1.1 million registered handguns in 2020, an increase of 71 percent from 10 years earlier.

Unlike the United States, there is no constitutional protection to own firearms in Canada. Almost two-thirds of gun crimes in urban areas involve handguns. Canadian police often point to smuggling from the US as the main source of handguns.

Canada already has stricter rules on gun ownership than the US and records fewer firearm incidents every year. All guns in Canada must be kept locked and unloaded, and anyone wishing to buy a firearm must undergo extensive background checks.

Canada has experienced a number of deadly shootings.

In April 2020, a gunman posing as a police officer killed 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.

In addition to this new legislation, the government will require long-gun 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.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the government has already filed regulatory amendments in both the House of Commons and the Senate to ensure the national freeze on handguns can be implemented swiftly.

He confirmed that the government would be proceeding with a mandatory buyback program for the more than 1,500 assault-style firearms it banned in 2020.

The Trudeau government has looked to regulate firearms more strictly for years, but Trudeau acknowledged on Monday that gun violence continues to rise.

Conservative public safety critic Raquel Dancho said the legislation does not effectively address gun violence. She said it fails to focus on the root cause of gun violence in cities-illegal guns smuggled into Canada by criminal gangs.

"The PM has had 7 years to fix this serious issue, yet he continues to chase headlines and bury his head in the sand," she tweeted.

Agencies contributed to this story.