OTTAWA — The federal government is adding hundreds more types of firearms to its list of banned guns and looking to send some of them to Ukraine.
On Thursday, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the Liberals were adding 324 more “unique makes and models” of what he called “assault-style” firearms to its list of banned guns, taking effect immediately.
It came on the eve of the 35th anniversary of the École Polytechnique shooting in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989, where a gunman targeting women killed 14 and injured 10 others.
Honouring those killed in mass shootings means taking action on gun control, LeBlanc said.
In May 2020, the Liberals announced it was banning some 1,500 types of firearms, promising to compensate gun owners and businesses through a yet-be-functioning buyback program, which the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates could cost upwards of $750 million, depending on its design.
LeBlanc says the pilot phase of program targeting businesses is underway, and will be open “in the coming days.”
“As part of that process, the Government of Canada has committed to the Ukrainian government to identify whether some of these guns could be donated to support the fight for democracy in Ukraine,” he said.
Defence Minister Bill Blair said the Liberals reached out in October to see if Ukrainian troops could use some of the guns Canada has banned in their war against Russia .
“They confirmed that indeed, some of the weapons that are part of the program, would be suitable,” said Blair.
Companies that choose to work with the defence department on the initiative would be compensated, he said.
National Post
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