February 3, 2023
-National Post
Two contentious amendments to the Liberal government’s controversial gun control legislation have been withdrawn.
Gathering for the first time since their meeting was adjourned-in-progress nearly a month-and-a-half ago, the House standing committee on public safety and national security (SECU) heard from MP Taleeb Noormohamed, who announced the government’s intentions to withdraw amendments G4 and G46.
“In relation to a clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-21, an act to amend certain acts and and to make certain consequential amendments firearms, amendment G4, currently under consideration by the committee be deemed withdrawn, and that amendment G46, which as not yet been moved, be deemed withdrawn from the package of amendments,” he said.
“It’s not our intention, as I noted, to move on G46.”
Liberal MP and committee member Paul Chiang tabled the contentious amendments in November, sweeping changes that would have outlawed currently-legal rifles used daily by hunters and sport shooters.
Amendment G4 aims to expand the list of prohibited firearms by including its definition to ban firearms “… that is a rifle or shotgun, that is capable of discharging centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner and that is designed to accept a detachable cartridge magazine with a capacity greater than five cartridges of the type for which the firearms was originally designed.”
Amendment G46 is a voluminous 300-page amendment cataloging specific banned firearms in the legislation, ranging from those banned in the 1990s through May 2020.
Opposition members of the committee accused the Liberals of piling the bill with controversial amendments while the bill was at committee.
“The way the Liberals introduced this amendment after we had completed our witness testimony, I think was a sign of bad faith,” New Democrat MP and committee members Alistair MacGregor told the National Post in an interview last month.
“I do know several of them have issued mea culpas, both publicly and to myself, and said that there was probably a better way they could have done this.”
More to come . . .
