Is Trudeau Really Blinking on UN Firearms Marking Regulations?
It would appear he is. Social media lit up this morning over a report from Regina Gun Safety & Licensing that said the Firearms Marking Regulations would be deferred until December 31, 2018.
Update #2: MP Blaine Calkins, along with Arnold Viersen, Robert Sopuck, Mel Arnold, MP, Bernard Généreux and Michelle Rempel, spoke of the deferral earlier today, along with more concerns about the “back door gun registry” created by Bill C-47, the implementation bill for the UN Arms Trade Treaty. His video is at the bottom of this post. Michelle Rempel also discusses her petition demanding all the members of the Firearms Advisory Committee to have their Possession and Acquisition Licence, an excellent proposal.
Update #3: May 19, 2017 Public Safety Canada Press Release on deferral of Firearms Marking Regulations
A search of the Public Safety Canada website still does not confirm this report as of the time of publication, nor do any news sources report anything on the issue.
What does exist, however, are two Orders in Council published in the Privy Council Secretariat. The first, SOR/2017-0087, says
| 2017-0506 | 2017-05-12 | JUS | |||
| Act | Criminal Code | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2017) | ||||
| Precis | Order Declaring an AMNESTY PERIOD (2017) in order to extend the Amnesty Order, until December 31, 2017, in order to encourage compliance with the licensing provisions of the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code prior to its expiration. | ||||
| Registration | Registration: SOR/2017-0087 Publication Date: 2017-05-31 | ||||
You will note there are no details about the amnesty in this notice, only the publication of the fact there will be one.
The second, SOR/2017-0088, says
| 2017-0515 | 2017-05-12 | PS | |||
| Act | Firearms Act | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Regulations Amending the Firearms Marking Regulations | ||||
| Precis | Regulations Amending the FIREARMS MARKING REGULATIONS to defer the coming into Force date of the Regulations in order to permit the Government of Canada to develop amendments to the Regulations so that they achieve their intended purpose of enabling the tracing of crime guns by law enforcement agencies. | ||||
| Registration | Registration: SOR/2017-0088 Publication Date: 2017-05-31 | ||||
You will notice there is no date specified for the deferral.
The only way we will know what Justin Trudeau’s government intends with both these Orders in Council is when those details are published in Canada Gazette.
That could happen as early as tomorrow, or it may not happen until the House returns from its break in ten days time.
Todd Brown reported on Facebook that Conservative MP Larry Miller confirmed the deferral and Conservative MP Gerry Ritz published the following on Twitter:
Let’s keep up the pressure on Libs for firearm rights in Canada. UN Marking Scheme now delayed 18 months. #cdnpoli #gunowners #firearms pic.twitter.com/GlpNSaDAPo
— Gerry Ritz (@GerryRitzMP) May 18, 2017
While two Conservatives are saying the deferral is a done deal there is still no confirmation from Justin Trudeau’s government beyond vaguely worded announcements about two Orders in Council.
I await the official announcement of both OIC’s in Canada Gazette, along with the specific details of both, before I’ll take any of it to the bank.
