Pressure grows on committee to hear from experts on contentious amendment to gun control bill

OTTAWA —  Pressure is growing on the public safety committee to hear from independent witnesses on a controversial amendment to the government’s gun control legislation.

Bloc Quebecois MP Kristina Michaud, a member of the committee, has enlisted the support of the Liberal and NDP MPs on the committee in a letter calling on chair Ron McKinnon to convene an “urgent meeting” to discuss the possibility of inviting witnesses to testify. They say independent experts would help to “clarify” new questions arising from the amendment that has caused a “great deal of turmoil.”

“We believe it is in the public interest to untangle and clarify the impacts of this amendment on Bill C-21 and the future of firearms in this country,” their letter says.

Michaud told reporters on Wednesday that she engaged in private discussions with the non-Conservative members on the public safety committee to make the request after her first attempt failed to reach unanimous consensus earlier this week.

The proposed change at the heart of the controversy — amendment G4 — seeks to widen the definition of a “prohibited weapon” to include “a firearm 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 firearm was originally designed.”

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A growing number of critics worry the amendment would unjustly target hunters, farmers and Indigenous peoples.

Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said he, personally, is open to voting for the Liberals’ amendment, but said he needs some “clarity” first from experts. The Bloc’s support would guarantee the Liberals have enough votes to pass the legislation in the House of Commons.

Conservatives and New Democrats spent part of question period on Thursday blasting the government on the amendment brought at the eleventh hour, and tensions rose to the point where Conservative MP Raquel Dancho was expelled from the day’s sitting. She accused Liberal MP Vance Badawey of lying, and refused to apologize.

“The Liberal government got up in the House of Commons and insinuated that Conservatives had been obstructionists when it comes to Bill C-21, that we are part of the problem,” she said.

Dancho accused Liberals of having been filibustering the public safety committee for days. At Thursday’s meeting, Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed indeed asked technical questions on the amendment to gun expert witnesses for two hours straight without letting other members speak.

“So for them to get up in the House of Commons and say Conservatives are part of the problem when we’re standing up for Canadian hunters it is a lie,” she said.

Dancho said her party was not made aware of the letter signed by the Liberals, Bloc and NDP members, but said it was “offensive” to think that two extra meeting to hear expert witnesses would be enough to get all the answers they need on the very lengthy amendment brought by the Liberals.

NDP MPs also expressed their outrage on the bill, and were loudly applauded and cheered on by their Conservative colleagues across the House of Commons when doing so.

“This was meant to be a bill about limiting handguns and protecting victims of domestic violence, but now the Liberals are going after the tools that my neighbors use for hunting, for predator control and for backcountry safety,” said Taylor Bachrach, who represents a riding in northern British Columbia.

“When is the Prime Minister going to realize the mistake he has made, fix this mess and back up the bus?” he added, under the rallying cries of the Conservatives.

Earlier this week, one lone Liberal MP, Brendan Hanley from Yukon, also told CBC News the proposed legislation is “upsetting” and that he would not support the bill in its current form.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that his government remains committed to enshrining the ban on “assault-style weapons” into law and to establish a definition to make sure that new variations of that category of arms are not sold in Canada.

“The definition is something that we are very much committed to, but the actual list that goes with it, that’s something that we’re consulting on right now because we understand that there are concerns by hunters and farmers that we’re going after their shotguns and rifles,” he said.

“We are not, and that’s what we’re going to make sure with fine-tuning of the legislation.”