Federal Election 2019 Series: Part Three of Four

Gun control has long been debated in our nation by both citizens and politicians alike. We live in a time where violence has been on the rise in our major cities and gun related crimes have risen with this statistic. There is a severe lack of government funding directed to curbing the foundation and source of the increase of violent gun related crime. We do not have an appropriate amount of funding for combating organized crime, gun smuggling or mental health among the general population. So with the 2019 election having been announced, where do the parties of Canada stand on gun related issues? In this series over four weeks, we will be investigating the gun control stances of each of the major parties of this great nation. Today, we take a look at the three less popular parties and their stance on gun rights/control.

Green Party of Canada Gun Stance

The Green Party of Canada has been mostly silent on their stance on gun control and rights. In fact, they don’t include it as part of their policy for the 2019 Election. I had to google search the topic and what I found was scarce.

The main item I found was a tweet that the party put out on August 14th, 2019 that stated the following: “Handguns and automatic weapons are to kill people. They should be banned. Today Greens call for a Canada-wide ban on semi-automatic assault rifles and all handguns except those used for sport and by police.”

They even used two thoughtful hashtags: #BanGuns #CdnPoli. How creative and convincing. Yeah…not so much. This party is lack lustre and don’t seem to hold this as an important issue in our country. 

Bloc Quebecois Gun Stance

Not only is there an absence of policy on their website to state their stance, but they make it very difficult for English speaking supporters to back them by only allowing their website to be available in French. Once you translate and weed through their policy, you’ll find that there is no mention of their gun stance. With the issue at the forefront of this Federal Election, they would do well to have a position, any position, on this sensitive issue. I was able to find one item that outlined where they stand. The article dates back to 2015. The original version could be founded here but has since been removed. Here is what it states:

Crimes and justice

Let’s hope that when push comes to shove, these guys and gals come forward with some sort of stance instead of one that is largely absent.

People’s Party of Canada Gun Stance

This party’s gun stance is strong! They include an entire section of their policy on their website and are adamant about preserving Canadian firearm owners rights. The following is copied directly from their website. You can find the full policy here including a PDF version available for download:

Firearms: Respecting Legal Firearms Owners and Targeting Criminals

Issue

The legal use of firearms has always been part of Canadian tradition and culture. Today, there are over 2 million hunters, ranchers, trappers, farmers, target shooters, recreational shooters and collectors who legally possess firearms in our country.

However, despite this group being exceptionally law abiding and the most highly vetted segment in the Canadian population, the existing firearms legislation unfairly targets them, does not respect their property rights, and is highly arbitrary.

Facts

In 1995, Bill C-68 created the Firearms Act, the strictest gun-control legislation in Canadian history. Its most controversial feature, the creation of a long-gun registry, was repealed in 2012.

The Act continues to classify firearms into different categories for reasons which frequently have nothing to do with their function. Firearms can also be assigned new classifications at the whim of a bureaucrat. What is legal one day can become illegal the next.

Under the licensing system of the Act, the ownership of firearms has become a privilege that can be revoked or altered at any moment. Legal gun owners can lose their property and even have their life ruined by being criminally charged through their inaction (by not keeping their paperwork up to date) or due to the moving goalposts of Canadian firearms law.

Our Plan

Canada’s firearms legislation must protect society from the criminal misuse of firearms and prioritize the deterrence and punishment of criminals.

Legal firearms owners deserve a legal framework that protects their property rights and treats them with fairness and respect. We need a common-sense approach to gun control that promotes safety while removing the threat of arbitrary criminal prosecution.

A People’s Party government will:

• Replace the Firearms Act and supporting legislation with new legislation that will prioritize effective measures to improve public safety and fight crime in Canada.
• Replace the costly and burdensome licensing system with an efficient lifetime certification system for firearms owners following mandatory vetting, safety training and testing. To avoid criminalizing legal gun owners and guarantee their property rights, this system will legalize simple possession of firearms for certified Canadians as long as they use their firearms lawfully and don’t commit some other crime which would disqualify them from firearms ownership.
• Require that all firearms categories be based on function, not on looks or arbitrary political whims, and remove ineffective restrictions which unfairly target sport shooters, but have no deterrent effect on criminals.
• Mandate that all future changes to firearms regulation be completed through Parliament only. This means that neither the RCMP nor cabinet will be able to move the legal goalposts for legal firearms owners without the approval of Parliament.

This is a very solid stance and it’s clear to see that they align most closely with the Conservatives.

Conclusion…

It’s safe to say that the first two party’s, Green Party of Canada and Bloc Quebecois, don’t have a gun stance at all except when it comes to the occasional outburst on social media or if it deals specifically with residents of Quebec. This poses a dilemma with the rest of the nation in the sense that their policy doesn’t quite fit the bill for the rest of the country so in the end, they fall short of what is really needed. The People’s Party of Canada seems to be the strongest advocate for fairness and for seeing the real problem here in our country: go after the criminals and gun runners and leave law abiding citizens alone. This is a party with vision and one that see’s the real and big picture. It will be interesting, for sure, to see the future of the PPC here in Canada. With the Conservatives in alignment of this policy, they will be a force to be reckoned with when the time comes to start repealing the mess that the other party’s have created. We will definitely be watching!