The Government of Canada announced this Friday the approval of a decree law with which it will temporarily prohibit the importation of firearms into the country from September 19, a measure that is part of the efforts of the Canadian Executive to limit its use in the North American country.
The Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melanie Joly, announced at a press conference that the Canadian Government has decided to go ahead with the arms import ban, even without Parliament’s approvalbut with regulatory restrictions.
The measure will accelerate aspects of the national freeze on the purchase, sale, import and transfer of firearms in Canada announced by the Executive in May, and will do so until said freeze comes into force, as reported by the Government of Canada in a statement.
“This ban is a stopgap while the firearms freeze advances fully through the parliamentary process, which prevents the shelves from being replenished in the immediate term, ”said the head of Foreign Affairs in statements collected by the CTV News network.
Mendicino, for his part, argued that this temporary ban will mean a “de facto” freeze that It will help “keep Canadians safe.”
“We have announced a national ban on the importation of firearms, which will make the definitive impact of the freeze come into force sooner,” the Minister of Public Security assured on his Twitter account.
In May, the government announced Bill C-31, legislation that, if passed, would further restrict legal access to firearms in Canada. The project does not reach a total prohibition, but opts for a national “freezing” of the salepurchase or transfer of firearms in Canada that allows current legal owners to keep theirs, according to the aforementioned chain.
The project also seeks to create systems to point out people who may represent a risk to themselves or others, as well as to increase the maximum penalties for firearms-related crimes, such as firearms smuggling and trafficking.
–
