New gun control measures coming in Canada, says Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says new gun control measures are coming soon.

He’s hinting at further restrictions in the wake of the latest tragic school shooting out of the U.S.

Trudeau referred to the school shooting in Texas as “an incredibly senseless, violent act,” adding his government is “moving forward on doing even more.”

He says in the coming weeks, his government will announce new steps related to gun control, though he didn’t elaborate.

The prime minister, and earlier his justice minister, would not say if a full handgun ban across the country is on the table, despite increasing pressure from some mayors and gun control advocates.

“We’ve been working with them and some of their concerns over the past while because we understand there is a range of opinions and views,” Trudeau said.

He notes while there may be differing opinions on the matter, there is some unity “in wanting to see less gun violence, fewer deaths from gun violence across the country.”

“That unity is what we’re going to move forward with as we take new steps in the coming weeks on gun control,” Trudeau said.

The current commitment from the federal government is to let cities and provinces introduce their own bans.

During the election, the Liberals promised to give $1 billion to provinces that instituted a handgun ban, though the piecemeal approach has been criticized.

The government has already banned many assault-style rifles and introduced stricter measures on background checks.

In his May 2020 announcement, Trudeau also said owners of any one of the 1,500 models of firearms that were being banned would have a two-year amnesty period to come into compliance with the prohibition. In March of this year, however, the Liberal government revealed that order, which was set to expire in April, would be extended until October 2023.

Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde, Texas claimed the lives of at least 19 young students and two teachers.

The 18-year-old gunman, who is said to have used an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle, was killed by police. Authorities say the teen bought the rifle and a second one like it last week, just after his birthday.

Texas’ governor said Wednesday that the gunman warned in online messages just moments before the attack that he had shot his grandmother and that he was going to shoot up a school.

-With files from The Associated Press