Cabinet Having ‘Delicate Conversations’ on Proposed Gun Restriction Bill, Says Gov’t House Leader

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Mark Holland speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill on Sept. 20, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

The federal cabinet is having “delicate conversations” with stakeholders about its proposed gun restriction bill, says Government House Leader Mark Holland, noting that the legislation centres on “a very emotionally charged issue.”

Holland was asked by reporters in Ottawa on Jan. 27 about the government’s timeline for Bill C-21 and when they hope to get it passed through the House of Commons.

The bill is currently under review by the Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and has been criticized by all opposition parties and even by some rural Liberal MPs.

“We are having conversations right now and over the last month or so since the House broke with stakeholders on both sides,” Holland said, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“This is a very emotionally charged issue,” he said. “We want to make sure that we get weapons that were involved in mass-casualty events—weapons that are used to do mass killings—off the streets.”

Amendments made to Bill C-21 by the Liberal government in November 2022 attempted to establish an evergreen definition of prohibited firearms that would capture weapons designed to fire in a semi-automatic fashion.

The proposed legislation has been criticized by opposition parties for threatening to take away gun-ownership rights from hunters by restricting the use of rifles and shotguns commonly used for sport.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously said his government is not targeting hunting guns through the bill and is consulting with stakeholders to ensure the “right weapons” are captured—which Holland reiterated on Jan. 27.

“We want to make sure that we don’t interfere with those that have hunting as a way of life and a passion, and so those are delicate conversations,” he said.

‘Work with Other Parties’

Holland said passing Bill C-21 will take some time and will require gaining the support of other parties.

“We have to work with the other parties,” he said, adding that cabinet is having ongoing discussions with parliamentarians on striking a gun-restriction balance.

“That isn’t an easy conversation and that’s why I don’t have an immediate answer around timeline, but it’s our our objective to do that as quickly as possible,” he said.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party’s public safety critic Raquel Dancho have both said the federal government should focus on lessening illegal gun ownership in Canada rather than targeting “hunters and farmers.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also said his party would oppose the bill for as long as the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) does, which voted in December 2022 to publicly reject Bill C-21 over concerns it would criminalize firearms many First Nations people use for hunting.

“Any amendment in any way that contravenes your treaty rights is an amendment we will not support,” Singh told the AFN on Dec. 8.

Noé Chartier contributed to this report.