Trudeau withdraws controversial Bill C-21's assault-style weapons amendment

Justin Trudeau's Liberal government withdrew its controversial assault-style weapons definition amendment on February 3rd, citing concerns about requiring more discussions with provincial and indigenous leaders.

"Opposition MPs and some firearm advocates applauded the move," wrote CTV's Mia Robinson and Jim Bronskill, "while a prominent gun-control group called it a victory for misinformation about the now-pulled amendment."

The move to withdraw Bill C-21 came roughly one week after Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino met with indigenous leaders in Canada's Yukon territory over their concerns about the legislation.

Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai said in a statement released to the public on January 20th that he was very concerned about the federal government's new legislative proposals and feared they could harm his constituents.

Photo by Facebook @PremierRanjPillai

"Many Yukoners are very concerned about the proposed amendments to Bill C-21 and the impacts they would have on law-abiding firearms owners in the territory," Pillai wrote.

Photo by Facebook @PremierRanjPillai

"As a lawful gun owner, avid hunter, and member of a family who has worked a trapline on the land for generations," Pillai added, "I have a deep appreciation for the concerns."

Photo by Facebook @PremierRanjPillai

"Serious concerns remain around the impacts Bill C-21 would have on the way of life of many Yukoners," Pillai continued. "From licensed and subsistence hunters to Indigenous families working traplines, the proposed amendments would negatively impact law-abiding Yukoners and threaten Indigenous traditional ways of life."

Photo by Facebook @PremierRanjPillai

Pillai and his government met Minister Mendicino five days after his statement to help sort out some of the Yukon's concerns, though many believed it would change the situation. But how did things get some complicated?

Shortly after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Trudeau moved to freeze the import and sale of handguns in Canada. 

“It will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada,” Trudeau said during a press conference on May 30th, 2022. “In other words, we’re capping the market for handguns.”

That controversial proposal, now known as Bill C-21, was initially welcomed by many Canadians as a step in the right direction, with many praising the freeze when it went into effect on October 21st. 

In late November 2022, Trudeau moved to add an amendment to Bill C-21 that would change the definition of an assault-style weapon and ban a whole new group of firearms in Canada.

Trudeau's proposed amendment would prohibit hunting firearms that were "too dangerous in other contexts," according to comments from the Prime Minister.

The Liberal government's new definition defined an assault-style weapon as “a firearm that is a rifle or shotgun, that is capable of discharging centrefire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner and that is designed to accept a detachable cartridge magazine with a capacity greater than five cartridges of the type for which the firearm was originally designed.”

If added to Bill C-21, the new definition would have effectively banned firearms like the SKS semi-automatic rifle as well as 400 other models of rifles and some shotguns. 

Nathalie Provost, a survivor of the Polytechnique Massacre, praised the move as "another critical step towards a comprehensive and permanent ban on assault-style weapons in Canada," and said the definition "would cover most if not all conventional assault weapons."

Conservative public safety critic Raquel Dancho characterized the measure as "an all-out war on hunters" in Canada, a sentiment many in the Yukon seemed to agree with. 

"The Liberal government, with this amendment, is moving to ban almost all semi-automatic shotguns and rifles. So we're talking bird hunters, bird hunters use semi-automatic shotguns," Dancho said.

Wilson, along with many of Canada’s 2.2 million licensed firearms owners, worried Bill C-21 would also extend past its mandate once the next crisis appeared, something that seems quite prophetic in hindsight until Trudeau's government tabled its proposed amendments.