Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
The Government of Canada has expressed its intention to ban, what it refers to as “military-style assault rifles”, through an Order in Council;
Public Safety Canada’s information notes this is not a legal definition in Canada;
The use of an Order in Council is an egregious overreach of executive authorities, bypassing the democratic process of the House and the elected representatives of Canadians;
This executive order would strip law-abiding Canadians it has approved through the RCMP Canada Firearms Program, of their legally purchased property;
The use of an Order in Council ignores the Government’s survey on firearms where “the majority of respondents did not support further limiting access to firearms & assault-style firearms”;
The proposed buyback of legal, licenced firearms could cost the Canadian taxpayer over $250,000,000 which could be better spent on initiatives that have an appreciable positive impact on public safety such as: deter youth from gangs, addiction treatment, mental health, strengthened border security, and increase police anti-gang capacities;
An Order in Council ban on “military-style assault rifles” would fail to take firearms away from criminals; and
A ban would unfairly target Canadian firearms owners who are already among the most vetted in Canadian society. Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) and Restricted PAL (RPAL) holders are subject to daily screening and are statistically proven to be less likely to commit crimes than non-PAL & non-RPAL holders.
We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to put any new firearms laws, bans, buyback programs or changes to licencing before the House of Commons to be debated.
