According to Firearm Chronicles
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s sweeping ban on tens of thousands of legally owned firearms, announced on Friday, isn’t going over well in many parts of the country. In Ottawa, premier Doug Ford blasted the move during a Saturday press conference, telling reporters that the ban will have a far bigger impact on legal gun owners than it will on violent criminals.
He said he would rather see the millions planned for the gun buyback program go instead toward beefing up border security to stop guns from being illegally smuggled into Canada. “I can’t help but think that money could be put at a much better use hunting down the violent criminals and stopping the illegal guns at our borders,” he said.
Ottawa’s priority should be strengthening bail conditions and jail sentences for criminals and gang members who commit gun crimes, he added. Ford said he finds it “frustrating” that weapons offenders are often back on the streets within a few days of being arrested and that some receive sentences of only a year or two. “The problem is not the legal gun owners, we need to target the smugglers and we need to throw the book at these gangsters out there terrorizing our streets,” he said. “Throw the key away with these people if they get caught with guns, don’t give them a slap on the wrist and then try to point the finger at legal, law abiding gun owners.” Other provincial leaders are sounding off as well, including Alberta premier Jason Kenney, who says lawmakers are looking at all possible responses to Trudeau’s edict. “Ottawa is singling out law-abiding Canadians who purchased their property legally, have owned these items safely for years, and who have committed no crimes,” Kenney said in a statement.