Gun control group warns of firearm ‘inaction’ ahead of Polytechnique anniversary

by Jim Bronskill

OTTAWA — A well-known gun control group is telling Prime Minister Mark Carney it would be “disingenuous and even hypocritical” for Liberal MPs to wear white ribbons to mark the anniversary of the Montreal massacre given the government’s lack of action on key firearm measures.

In a letter sent to Carney this week, the group PolySeSouvient accuses the Liberals of “inaction” to ensure a complete ban on assault-style firearms and failing to implement gun-related measures to prevent intimate partner violence.

Read more:

• Sask. firearms commissioner outlines issues with gun buyback as Ottawa launches pilot
• Murray Wood: Even a cabinet minister knows gun buyback program about politics, not safety
• Police lack resources to enforce gun buyback, minister suggests in recorded exchange

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, informally known as White Ribbon Day, falls on Dec. 6. It marks the anniversary of a gunman’s murder of 14 women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique in 1989.

Since May 2020, Ottawa has outlawed approximately 2,500 types of guns on the basis they belong on the battlefield, not in the hands of hunters or sport shooters.

The government says a buyback program will provide owners fair compensation for their outlawed firearms.

PolySeSouvient, formed in response to the 1989 mass shooting, says the buyback will be a waste of money unless it includes a ban on the semi-automatic SKS rifle, which is not among the banned firearms.

“If the ban is not comprehensive, assault weapons will remain legally available and the public’s interest in terms of increased safety from gun violence will be compromised,” says the letter to Carney from PolySeSouvient coordinator Heidi Rathjen and others affiliated with the group.

The SKS is commonly used in Indigenous communities to hunt for food. It has also been used in police killings and other high-profile shootings.

In September, the government said consultations on the firearm’s classification were ongoing.

PolySeSouvient has called on the government to impose an immediate ban on new sales of the SKS, remove from circulation modern, assault-style versions of the rifle, and implement a voluntary buyback of older models. It advocates an exemption for Indigenous hunters who use the SKS primarily for sustenance.

The group also criticizes the Liberal government for failing to bring into force measures to deal with firearm-related intimate partner violence that flow from legislation which became law almost two years ago.

“Over 50 women’s groups have fought for the adoption for these measures,” the letter to Carney says. “A year ago, alongside relatives of victims of recent gun-related domestic femicides and familicides, these groups reiterated their call for swift and effective implementation.”

In their spring election platform, the Carney-led Liberals promised to automatically revoke gun licences held by individuals convicted of violent offences — particularly intimate partner violence offences.

The letter to Carney says “it would be disingenuous and even hypocritical for you and your Liberal caucus MPs to wear white ribbons or to participate in memorial events across Canada commemorating the victims of the femicides at Polytechnique,” given the remaining work to be done.

Read more:

• Sask. firearms commissioner outlines issues with gun buyback as Ottawa launches pilot
• Murray Wood: Even a cabinet minister knows gun buyback program about politics, not safety
• Police lack resources to enforce gun buyback, minister suggests in recorded exchange