First Nations Leaders, NDP Opposed to Latest Federal Gun Restriction Bill in Current Form

Assembly of First Nations National Chief, RoseAnne Archibald, speaks at a press conference on New Brunswick First Nations during the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa, Dec. 8, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

Chiefs and their representatives at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) yesterday voted to publicly reject the federal government’s proposed gun-control legislation over concerns it would criminalize firearms many First Nations people use for hunting.

The chiefs voted unanimously in favour of an emergency resolution to oppose the legislation, while NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told the assembly he shares the AFN’s concerns and would not support recent amendments to the bill.

“We totally oppose this bill,” said Kitigan Zibi Chief Dylan Whiteduck during the Assembly of First Nations in Ottawa on Dec. 8.

Whiteduck said firearms used in First Nations communities are a “tool.” “It’s not a weapon,” he said.

Bill C-21, which is currently under review by the House of Commons public safety committee, was recently amended to widen the definition of firearms that could be considered what the government terms “assault-style” weapons and enshrine it in law.

If passed, the amended bill would ban an additional 300 to 400 types of firearms, many of which are shotguns and rifles typically used for hunting, in addition to the 1,500 models already banned by the Liberal government in May 2020.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh told the AFN on Dec. 8 that he shares their concerns about the federal gun restriction legislation.

“Any amendment in any way that contravenes your treaty rights is an amendment we will not support,” Singh said while addressing the AFN meeting.

Rosanne Casimir, a representative at the meeting for the chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation in B.C., Lynda Price, said many individuals in her community rely on hunting for “food security.”

“We were born and raised as sustenance hunters and gatherers,” Casimir said. “I used to go out with my mother on horseback to hunt and to trap. I raised my children to rely on our sustenance.”

Lynda Price’s son is Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, who publically stated last week that he is opposed to Bill C-21 as it currently stands.

“I am not a criminal or a threat to society,” he wrote in an Instagram post on Dec. 3. “What [Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] is trying to do is unjust.”

Trudeau told reporters earlier this week that the federal government is not looking to ban hunting rifles and shotguns.

“We’re listening to feedback ... to make sure that we’re not capturing weapons that are primarily hunting weapons,” Trudeau said during a press conference in Ingersoll, Ont., on Dec. 5.

Trudeau said today that the federal government is re-examining the legislation after complaints that it was targeting weapons used for hunting.

“We are focused on going after certain guns that have no place in Canada and we are not going after shotguns and rifles,” he told Global News. “And that is the work that is going on right now to look at that list.”

Provinces

A number of provinces have also voiced opposition to the proposed federal gun restrictions, with Saskatchewan recently announcing a provincial firearms act in response to Bill C-21, and Alberta saying they will follow suit early next year.

Manitoba, New Brunswick, and the Yukon have also expressed opposition to the bill, and Northwest Territories Premier Caroline Cochrane today told reporters on Parliament Hill that she also opposes the proposed legislation.

Cochrane said a large percentage of her population relies on hunting for food because of high living costs within the territory.

“Many of our communities—they don’t have jobs. They’re so reliant on country food,” she said on Dec. 9.

“At this point, if they [the federal government] didn’t look at the need for hunters, then I could not support it because then I would be supporting people starving,” Cochrane said of Bill C-21.

“You can’t take away our rifles because if you take away our rifles, you’re taking away our livelihood.”

Two Liberal MPs whose constituencies are the Yukon and Northwest Territories have also stated that they will not support Bill C-21 as it currently stands.

“The need to address gun violence is very real, both in rural and urban Canada. Equally pressing is the need to preserve our ability to hunt,” said Liberal MP for the Yukon, Brendan Hanley, in the House on Dec. 7.

“I will do my best to ensure that as we work together in the House to prevent one further death from gun violence, we will honour hunting as a way of life. It is the true Canadian thing to do.”

Canadian Press and Marnie Cathcart contributed to this report.