Ottawa Launches Review of Firearms Classification Regime, Consultations on SKS Rifle

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says the Liberal government is launching a review of Ottawa’s firearms classification regime, including consultations with indigenous communities on the SKS rifle, ahead of the federal gun buyback program’s launch across Canada.

Gun control groups have lobbied for Ottawa to include the SKS semi-automatic rifle on its list of banned firearms. The SKS is commonly used in indigenous communities to hunt food.

PolyRemembers, a gun control group formed after the 1989 École Polytechnique shooting, has asked Ottawa to prohibit the weapon, saying the buyback program would be “a waste of taxpayers’ money” and a “public safety failure” if the SKS were not included. The group suggested providing an exemption to indigenous hunters who primarily use the SKS for sustenance.

Anandasangaree said in a Dec. 4 statement that the firearms classification review will emphasize “simplicity and consistency” and take a broad view of the legal framework for firearms, devices, magazines, and ammunition to “modernize the regime and ensure Canadians’ safety.”

“We will ensure that the views of Canadians are considered throughout this review,” he said. “Perspectives of firearms experts, Indigenous peoples, industry, firearms owners and hunters will be integral to its success.”

The minister said the review also takes into consideration a report by the Mass Casualty Commission in 2023, which examined the 2020 mass shooting involving illegal firearms in Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead and three injured. The commission made 130 recommendations in its report for the RCMP, as well as provincial and federal governments.

The commission recommended that Canada’s Criminal Code be changed to prohibit all semi-automatic handguns, semi-automatic rifles, and shotguns that discharge centre-fire ammunition or can accept detachable magazines with capacities of more than five rounds.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused the commission at the time of ignoring both the victims of the crime and the details surrounding the firearms used by the shooter, which were obtained illegally and smuggled into Canada from the United States. He said the federal government needed to “stop going after hunters and start going after criminals.”

Anandasangaree’s statement on the classification review comes as PolyRemembers is commemorating the 36th anniversary of the shooting at Polytechnique. In a Dec. 4 statement, PolyRemembers said it is “encouraged” to see the Liberal government reiterate previous commitments to launch a review of firearm classifications that specifically mentions the SKS.

“However, we are concerned about the lack of a precise timetable since new SKS sales should be banned by the time the financial compensation of the buyback starts being rolled out,” PolyRemembers said, adding that the SKS is “the model most often used in mass shootings and the killing of police officers in Canada.”

Tracey Wilson from gun advocacy group Canadian Coalition of Firearm Rights accused Anandasangaree of using the announcement to “appease Poly the day before their memorial.”

“He could have just done the things in the statement but he didn’t, he just re-announced old stuff, likely to secure the PM’s invitation [to the memorial] tomorrow,” Wilson said in a Dec. 5 post on X.

Federal Buyback Program

Speaking to reporters on Dec. 4, Anandasangaree said the gun buyback program would be rolling out across Canada “in the coming weeks.”

Ottawa launched an initial pilot project for the program in Nova Scotia in September. The pilot aimed to “test program elements” by allowing firearms owners to turn in an initial 200 prohibited “assault-style” firearms.

Anandasangaree wouldn’t confirm how many guns had been successfully returned during the pilot project, but said the pilot went “well operationally.”

“There’s some glitches in the system we were able to iron out,” Anandasangaree said.

“At this point, we’re not sharing the actual numbers. The bigger issue for us was to make sure that we have the logistical capability of rolling out the program.”

The ban on so-called “assault-style” firearms was first introduced by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia. Trudeau later announced the ban on the use, sale, and importation of more than 1,500 makes and models of firearms, and the list of banned firearms was subsequently expanded to more than 2,000 types of firearms.

The provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan have said they are opposed to Ottawa’s buyback program, while the Ontario Provincial Police has said it won’t take part in the enforcement of the program.

The Conservatives have accused the Liberal government of targeting law-abiding gun owners, while ignoring illegally smuggled firearms most often used by criminals. The Liberals have said that such weapons are “designed for mass casualties.”

Matthew Horwood and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.