Feds announce national handgun freeze to take effect immediately

The Trudeau government announced a national handgun freeze on Friday, Oct. 21 that will go into effect right away.

The freeze means it will be illegal to buy, sell, transfer, import, or export handguns anywhere in Canada. The move is part of the Liberals’ Bill C-21 legislation which is still being debated in the House of Commons.

“Fewer guns mean safer communities for all Canadians,” reads a release from the Prime Minister’s office. “That’s why the Government of Canada is implementing some of the strongest gun control measures in over 40 years.”

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendocino’s office tells CityNews the freeze is being done through regulations and the governor general signed off on them on Thursday. The government says applications submitted on or before Oct. 21 will continue to be processed.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mendocino will officially make the announcement at 12 p.m. eastern time (ET) in British Columbia.

“With handgun violence increasing across Canada, it is our duty to take urgent action to remove these deadly weapons from our communities,” said Trudeau in a statement.

The government had previously banned the import of handguns as a first step towards a national freeze. In May, the Liberal government announced a plan to implement the freeze to help quell firearm-related violence.

The measure is part of a broader firearms-control package that would allow for the automatic removal of gun licences from people committing domestic violence or engaged in criminal harassment, such as stalking, as well as increase maximum penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking to 14 years from 10.

Last spring, to ensure the national freeze on handguns could be implemented swiftly, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino tabled regulatory amendments in both the House of Commons and the Senate.

With files from Cormac Mac Sweeney and The Canadian Press.