Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attempted to reassure gun owners Monday by promising his government's gun control legislation is being reviewed to ensure it does not target legitimate gun use.
Speaking in Ingersoll, Ont., Trudeau said that the list of firearms that could be banned if Bill C-21 passes in its current form is being reviewed to ensure the legislation does not go after hunting rifles or shotguns.
"We just put forward a list and we're consulting with Canadians on that," Trudeau said.
"That's what we're listening to, feedback on how to make sure that we're not capturing weapons that are primarily hunting weapons."
Trudeau promised his government is not "going after hunting rifles or shotguns."
Trudeau made the comments in response to widespread pushback against significant amendments made to Bill C-21, a bill crafted initially to ban handguns that the Liberals are attempting to amend with a new list of long guns to be banned.
In a video posted to Instagram over the weekend, Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price objects to the new bill, insists that he is not a criminal or a "threat to society" and says he wants to keep his "hunting tools."
The Conservatives have been joined in opposition to the bill by Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, who lamented on Twitter that the bill had convinced Price "and so many others that gun control's goal or effect is to hurt hunting."
WATCH: 'We're not going after hunting rifles or shotguns,' PM says
In response to criticism of Bill C-21, Trudeau reaffirms commitment to go after ‘the most dangerous weapons’ and says the government is listening to feedback to ensure it is ‘not capturing weapons that are primarily hunting weapons.’
"The amendment came out of nowhere," said NDP MP Charlie Angus, whose riding covers a vast swath of northern Ontario that includes many remote First Nations.
"This was a handgun bill. We suddenly saw this other legislation that has a lot of people who are legitimate gun owners worried. I think they overreached."
Trudeau said Monday that the focus of Bill C-21 is on guns designed to "kill the largest amount of people as quickly as possible."
"We made a commitment to continue to move forward with strong, smart gun control in this country, to keep communities safe, to keep Canadians safe, and we're going to continue to do that," he said.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino also insisted last week that hunters are not being targeted.
"We have a plan to eradicate gun violence once and for all," Mendicino told the House of Commons on Friday. "We are not going to target those guns which are used conventionally for hunting."
