As of August 19, the Canadian government will ban the importation of restricted weapons into the country.  The ban is being pushed without Parliament’s approval and will instead use regulatory restrictions to change policy.
The measure is expected to prevent “almost all” individuals and businesses from importing handguns into Canada, the government said Friday.
“This ban is a stopgap while the gun freeze as a whole moves through the parliamentary process, preventing it from being restocked for the foreseeable future,” said Secretary of State Melanie Jolie.
When CTV News Edmonton asked Dianne Harnois, owner of gun store P & D Enterprises, what she thought of the measure, she said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “has gone too far.”
“No matter what way he has to get through it, he’s pushing it,” Harnois said.  “And in my personal opinion, I would tell him it’s time for him to step down.”
Doug King, a Mount Royal University criminologist, says that while the gun ban may increase gun bans at the border, the overall impact may not reduce gun violence on the street.
“Most firearms that are used to commit crimes are firearms that are not owned in Canada through the proper process; they are likely smuggled in,” King told CTV News Edmonton.  “You want to address gun violence in Canada, address this issue. That’s where you’ll get the most return on your investment.”
King believes the government should have increased funding to law enforcement agencies such as the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency to help recruit more officers, conduct more commercial vehicle searches and increase investigative capabilities and exchange of officers’ information.
“The challenge of all of this is that the criminal element is one step ahead of law enforcement, and it seems to me that public policy is always one step behind law enforcement, which is one step behind the criminal element,” added King.
Another aspect not addressed by the regulator change is the potential for 3D printing of firearms, King says.
“We have to start wrapping our minds around the idea that I could download a program right now off the Internet to (3D) print a firearm,” he said.  “They’re making firearms. You and I could figure out that program, I think, within 30 minutes (of searching online).”
In late May, the Liberals introduced Bill C-21, legislation that, if passed, would further restrict legal access to guns.  It includes a section that falls short of a total ownership ban, instead opting for a national “freeze” on the sale or transfer of guns in Canada that allows current owners to retain ownership.
The proposed bill also seeks to establish systems that flag people who may be a danger to themselves or others and increase maximum penalties for firearms offenses including smuggling and trafficking.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

On Friday, Joly said the government decided to announce an import ban because since Bill C-21 was introduced, there has been a “surge” in gun purchases — specifically guns.
“We want to prevent this. That is why we are announcing this import ban… We know that the vast majority of weapons in the country are imported, as there is no arms producer in the country,” Jolly said.

Minister of State Melanie Joly and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino speak with Toronto Police Superintendent Steve Watts of the organized crime unit after a press conference announcing new gun control laws in Toronto, Friday, August 5, 2022 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston On Saturday, the shelves usually stocked with handguns at the Edmonton store were nearly empty. “I’ve been waiting for the approval to come, which just came in the last few days,” said gun owner Pat Cowman. He applied for his license approval last spring and was able to pick up his gun today before the store sold out. “People are now in a rush to buy a pistol,” added Harnois. “Those who are licensed and can legally possess. But the long-term effects are much more serious.” Empty shelves that usually hold handguns can be seen at P & D Enterprises in Edmonton on Saturday, August 6, 2022 (CTV News Edmonton/Brandon Lynch) The legislation remains in the early stages of moving through Parliament, with MPs set to begin a committee study of the bill once the autumn session of the House of Commons begins at the end of September. For King, this “surge” in arms purchases should have been foreseen – especially with how much further the bill has to go to get Royal Assent and become law. “I think they ended up on Friday saying, ‘Wow, this thing could be delayed a lot longer than October,’” King said. “The idea, however, that banning the legal sale and transfer of guns between law-abiding Canadians and suggesting that it will have a significant impact on gun-related violence in Canada is misleading, to say the least,” he added. . King said studies have shown that those who go through the process of getting a firearms license in Canada, including background checks, are less likely to commit a criminal offense than someone who hasn’t. “There’s a little premise: everyone who owns a gun is somehow closer to committing a Criminal Code offense than people who don’t,” he added. “That’s not true. Ultimately it comes down to the importation, smuggling of illegal firearms into Canada.” With files from Rachel Aiello of CTV News.ca and Steven Dyer of CTV News Edmonton