Ottawa is urged to move quickly on gun regulations and measures to stem domestic violence

Several civil society organizations, including women's advocates, are calling on the Liberal government to swiftly flesh out firearm legislation passed last year by enacting crucial regulations and directives.

In December, Parliament approved a government bill that includes new measures to keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers.

It also cements restrictions on handguns, increases penalties for firearm trafficking and aims to curb homemade ghost guns.

A detailed brief endorsed by various concerned organizations urges the government to take the regulatory steps needed to activate measures aimed at stemming intimate violence.

"We truly believe that some of these measures are going to make a difference in keeping women safe," said Suzanne Zaccour, director of legal affairs for the National Association of Women and the Law, one of the groups behind the brief sent to key federal ministers.

"So that's why we're advocating for these important sections to come into force as soon as possible."

The brief presses the government to issue an order-in-council to make Firearms Act amendments in the bill related to domestic violence take effect, namely: 

— subsection 6.1, which makes an individual ineligible to hold a firearms licence if they are subject to a protection order or have been convicted of an offence involving violence;

— subsection 70.1, which obliges a chief firearms officer who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a licensee may have engaged in domestic violence or stalking to revoke the licence within 24 hours; 

— and subsection 70.2, which automatically revokes the licence of an individual that becomes subject to a protection order and requires them to deliver their guns to a peace officer within 24 hours. 

The brief also calls for new regulatory measures to ensure compliance with a previously introduced requirement for sellers of firearms to verify the validity of the licence of a potential buyer.

"There have been many instances where an individual with a revoked or expired licence managed to purchase a firearm which they then used against an intimate partner or ex-partner."

The federal government should ensure an education campaign for police, the courts, the public and women's shelters includes updated information regarding the new standards for intervention to remove access to firearms as a result of subsection 70.1, as well as the expanded definition of domestic violence in the Firearms Act, the brief adds.

Others who have endorsed the recommendations include gun-control advocates PolySeSouvient, Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns, the Canadian Federation of University Women, Ending Violence Association of Canada, Women’s Shelters Canada, YWCA Canada, Danforth Families for Safe Communities, Fédération des femmes du Québec and Fédération des Maisons d'Hébergement pour Femmes au Québec.

The Public Safety Department had no immediate response to questions about the brief.

The bill passed by Parliament also includes a ban on assault-style firearms that fall under a new technical definition. However, the definition doesn't apply to models that were already on the market when the bill passed.

Earlier this summer, PolySeSouvient spokeswoman Nathalie Provost wrote Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, seeking action on plans for a buyback of firearms banned in 2020 through order-in-council, including the AR-15, prohibition of others that fell through the legislative cracks, and stronger regulations on large-capacity magazines. 

At the time, LeBlanc's office said it was "continuing to put strong measures in place to tackle gun violence."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2024.