PolySeSouvient says Liberals, Bloc Québécois are Canada’s best options for gun control

Mark Carney’s Liberals are the best suited to implement additional gun-control measures in Canada, according to a popular advocacy group.

PolySeSouvient says the Liberals are the federal party most likely to remove assault weapons from circulation in Canada and ban large-capacity magazines.

“Depending on the government we have,” said PolySeSouvient coordinator Heidi Rathjen, who witnessed the 1989 massacre, “the fate of gun control in Canada is at stake.”

It’s based on what the gun control advocacy group describes as a thorough analysis of each federal parties’ actions and commitments over the last four years – including public pledges by leaders and a survey sent to each party at the start of the campaign.

The group points to what the Liberals have already done as a sign of the party’s commitment: prohibiting hundreds of models of assault weapons; freezing handgun sales; and combatting drug trafficking.

“We’re nonpartisan, but we want to inform Canadians about what their vote means for gun control,” said Rathjen. “If you oppose gun control, vote for the Conservative Party. If you support gun control, there’s four parties that promise to tighten gun control. And to us, based on past performances, the Liberal Party is the one that has the strongest position.”

Since May 2020, the Liberal-led federal government has banned more than 2,500 varieties of what it calls assault-style firearms — semi-automatics with sustained rapid-fire capability. The prohibited firearms can no longer be used, bought or sold in Canada, with a limited exception in some cases for sustenance hunting.

PolySeSouvient says the Liberals’ proposed buyback program – which is already available to businesses and slated to expand to individual owners this spring – is another sign of the party’s commitment.

“[In] Canada, virtually all assault weapons are prohibited,” Rathjen said. “They’re still out there. They’re awaiting to be bought back. And only then would we have a true ban on assault weapons.”

The Conservative Party, Rathjen said, has promised to make assault weapons legal again.

“With a Conservative government, Canada would not have a ban on assault weapons,” she said. “They promised to reverse this. And to undo most of the measures — all of the measures brought in by the Trudeau government, but also some that were brought in before.”

The advocacy group ranked the Bloc Québécois as the next best suited to support gun control in Canada, given the party’s support of Ottawa’s efforts over recent years.

“A vote for the Bloc Québécois will guarantee strong support from at least one opposition party for these commitments,” Rathjen said.

The Green Party comes next, according to PolySeSouvient, given the party’s “common-sense arguments” and promise to support the assault weapon buyback.

Drawing the ire of the gun-control advocates were the NDP and the Conservatives.

PolySeSouvient accused the NDP of empty promises and lacking credibility. It argued the party “actively undermined the Liberals’ attempts to include a ban on assault weapons in Bill C-21. … They also pushed to exempt ‘practical shooters’ from the freeze on handguns purchases, which essentially would have cancelled the freeze, drawing accolades from the gun lobby.”

At the bottom of the rankings were the Conservatives, with PolySeSouvient warning an elected Pierre Poilievre could reverse gun-control measures implemented by the Liberals given’s the party’s long-standing opposition to Liberal gun-control efforts.

“For those who want semi-automatic military-style assault weapons to become legally available again for ordinary citizens and who want to get rid of reasonable safety measures like ensuring guns are automatically removed from domestic abusers and ensuring sellers verify the validity of a potential buyer’s firearms licence, the Conservative Party is the party for you,” said Rathjen.

Serge St-Arneault, brother of Polytechnique massacre victim Annie St-Arneault, said this election is more important than ever.  

“Having lost a loved one to gun violence as a result of easy access to an assault weapon, I urge all Canadians to pay close attention to the political parties’ commitments on this issue,” St-Arneault said.

–With files from The Canadian Press