PolySeSouvient says hundreds of assault-style weapons are excluded from a ban and buyback program.
It took just over 30 years for the gun used to shoot Nathalie Provost to be declared illegal.
Now, a survivor of Quebec’s deadliest mass shooting says the law that makes the Ruger mini-14 needs to be reinforced because it still allows far too many assault-style weapons to remain in circulation.
On Tuesday her group, PolySeSouvient, got Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante to lend her voice to demand the federal government ban hundreds of assault weapons.
“I’ve always been very vocal about this,” Plante said. “Polytechnique is about someone who killed 14 women because they were women. So today, the city of Montreal wants to support the work of PolySeSouvient in asking the government to finish what it started with C-21.”
The group is calling on the federal government to add hundreds of assault-style guns to the list of restricted weapons and to do so before a buyback program begins. Under a buyback program, gun owners who possess weapons that are restricted are compelled to bring them back, and they generally receive fair market value for those guns.
“There are hundreds of models that remain legal and we’re counting on Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc to prohibit them before the launch of the buyback,” Rathjen said.
She fears the buyback program will have minimal results because Canadians will simply turn in their guns, get fair market value for them, and use that money to purchase legal assault-style weapons that are just as lethal.
“They can just go back and buy a new assault-style rifle,” Provost said. “So it won’t stop anything.”
There is an important time element at play because Pierre Poilievre has vowed to scrap all gun control legislation if he wins the election slated for 2025.
“The (Liberal government) has the power to do this right now without being blocked in the House of Commons; that’s why we still have hope,” Provost said. “We have to remove the rug from under Poilievre’s feet, for the safety of Canadians. It’s really important to get this done, because we will see a global impact on our safety with this.”
Rathjen said refusing to add those weapons to the list will actually be a boost for gunmakers.
“It won’t only be a waste of taxpayer money, but it will also be an injection of taxpayer money into the gun industry, because many of these gun owners will want to replace these weapons with newer versions, so a buyback with an incomplete ban is insufficient and will not take.”
The city had an increase in gun violence in recent years, and while that may be on the wane for now, having more dangerous weapons in circulation makes everyone less safe, Plante said.
“The request today is really for the work to be completed after Leblanc’s promise (to ban assault weapons),” Plante said. “This is extremely important in the battle against armed violence, but there’s a whole other aspect, because the federal and provincial governments have to work together to better control arms smuggling, and everything that has to do with (creating gun parts with 3D printers).”
An emailed request for comment sent to Leblanc Tuesday was not returned by publication time.