The World Briefly

February 07, 2023

Making Exceptions

Canada

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The Canadian government withdrew elements of its proposed gun-control legislation this week, following opposition from various organizations, including Indigenous groups who complained that the bill impacted their livelihoods, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rolled out a bill that would formally prohibit the purchase, sale, or transfer of handguns and introduces a mandatory buyback program for nearly 1,500 different models and makes of firearms banned in 2020.

The bill followed the 2020 Nova Scotia massacre – considered the deadliest in the country – and the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas last year.

But lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Party later introduced a series of amendments to the draft law, including a ban on thousands of rifles and shotguns.

Critics warned that the broad ban would impact the lives of Indigenous and rural communities, who rely on hunting for their livelihood and sustenance.

The government later withdrew the wider firearm ban, saying that authorities are focusing on prohibiting assault-style weapons.

Analysts noted, however, that the decision came after the Liberal Party’s political allies in parliament said they did not support the amended bill, following complaints from the affected communities.

Observers added that the withdrawal comes at a time of low popularity for Trudeau’s party: Polls show that half of the voters feel the country is going in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, the Liberal Party is trailing its traditional rival, the Conservatives, by eight percentage points – the biggest gap between the two since 2015.

This story originally appeared in the February 07, 2023 newsletter, Dirty Laundry.