Parliament petition against Liberal gun ban biggest in Canadian history

The petition against the ban of “military-style assault rifles” opened on Dec. 17, 2019 and will close on Feb. 15 2020.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s office has not responded to The Post Millennial‘s requests for comment. The minister was asked what his response is to a record number of Canadians signing a petition against the Liberal gun ban and about the GTA mayors, including John Tory, releasing a statement calling for better border security to fight gun crime because an estimated 80 percent of gun crime in Canada is committed by illegal guns smuggled in from the US. The mayors’ statement did not mention the Liberal gun ban.

Blair was hit with hard questions during Question Period on Thursday about the gun ban that’s being rammed through Parliament without consultation with the opposition MPs and the public.

Conservative MP Raquel Dancho pointed out that Winnipeg has the highest rates of violent crime in Canada, which is mostly related to the meth crisis and not legal gun ownership. She also quoted Const. Rob Carver who said that the ban will not change the threat level at all.

Dancho then asked, “Will the Liberals admit their policy is completely out of step with police on the front lines and does nothing to keep Winnipeggers safe?”

Blair referred to three ways that guns end up in the hands of criminals before being cut off. He said, “They are smuggled across the border. They are stolen, or they are criminally diverted. And we are taking action to strengthen gun control laws to prevent those guns from being smuggled into Canada, to prevent them from being stolen from legal gun owners …”

When speaking to Blair, Conservative MP, John Brassard said, “Toronto Police Chief, Mark Saunders, revealed in December that 82 percent of handguns involved in crimes were smuggled in from the United States. The Minister of Public Safety had previously stated that half of crime guns come from domestic sources.”

He later asked, “Can the Minister table the source of his information that has now been proven incorrect?”

Blair acknowledged that his previous statistics, stating that 50 percent of handguns involved in crime came from the U.S., have changed.

Blair said, “The 50 percent number actually came from Chief Saunders in his first public statement, but since, as result of some investigations they have done into smuggling, came out with another number. And I acknowledge the facts there …” He was then cut off.

The Post Millennial also reached out to Tracey Wilson, who is a gun rights advocate from the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights.

“I don’t think the Liberals will be forced to withdraw their gun ban plans because of the petition, however the opposition across the nation is overwhelming and undeniable. The petition itself mostly asks for proper parliamentary process to be respected. This weakened, minority government would be wise to listen to the rising voices across the country. This could be the biggest mistake in their history,” said Wilson.

“The strongest argument against the ban is the lack of evidence that it will reduce crime, which should be the focus. That’s in addition to the incredible burden to tax payers for the buyback program itself which could easily soar over the billion dollar mark,” Wilson continued. “It’s impossible to deny that those funds would be better allocated to community programs, at risk youth interventions, anti-smuggling border technology and increased law enforcement funding. This is a blunder of epic proportions on their behalf, but it’s not too late to turn it around. Every Canadian would rally behind the measures I’ve proposed.”

Two previous petitions put forth by Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz calling for the gun ban only received fewer than 24,000 signatures.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office also did not respond to request for comment.