According to Firearm Chronicles
Justin Trudeau’s government will move forward with a sweeping ban on semi-automatic firearms, and the announcement could come by the end of the week according to unnamed government officials who spoke to Canada’s Globe & Mail newspaper. The anonymous officials told reporters that most of the details have already been approved by Trudeau’s cabinet, and while additional gun control legislation is planned, the gun ban itself will be imposed without a vote in Parliament.
In last year’s election campaign, the Liberals promised to ban military-style assault weapons, allow municipalities to ban handguns on their territory and bring in a series of new laws to restrict access to illegal weapons, among other elements. In addition, the Liberals said they would create a buyback program to require the owners of newly banned firearms to sell them back to the government.
The Liberals placed an estimated price tag of $250-million on the program in the election campaign, but critics said the final tab will likely be much higher to reflect the market value of the weapons. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said earlier this year that the buyback program could come later than the ban.
The banning of firearms can be done by a decision of cabinet called an order-in-council and does not require the adoption of new legislation. There is no exact definition of a military-style firearm, which means the government’s decision is based on science as well as political choices.