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Bloc wants to hear from experts before committing to helping Liberals pass gun control bill

Bloc MP Kristina Michaud has enlisted the support of the Liberal and NDP MPs to call for an 'urgent meeting' to discuss the possibility of inviting witnesses to testify

Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet says he wants to hear from experts before he fully supports the Liberals' firearms bill.
Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet says he wants to hear from experts before he fully supports the Liberals' firearms bill. Photo by Adrian Wyld /The Canadian Press

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.”

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“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.

Conservative MPs have made their displeasure with the amendment known, but even NDP MPs representing rural areas, such as Charlie Angus, have criticized the Liberals’ gun bill as a “massive overreach.” 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.”

More to come …