Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the federal government rejects the idea of allowing hunters to use the same type of military-style assault rifle involved in a mass shooting in Florida.
Last month, Conservative MP Bob Zimmer presented a petition to Parliament on behalf of the Lawful Firearm Owners of Canada that calls for the classification of the AR-15 rifle to be changed from a restricted firearm to a non-restricted one.
The petition was signed by more than 25,000 people, mainly from Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Goodale says the Liberal government will present a formal written reply to the petition, but he made it clear there is no intention of changing the weapon’s classification.
“The request has been made to change the classification, but our position is ‘no,’ that the existing classification will remain.”
The AR-15 is a civilian model of the M16 rifle used by the U.S. army and has been used to carry out other mass slayings, including the 2012 killing of 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Conn.
