Assault-style weapon ban won’t target ordinary guns despite ‘fearmongering’: minister

The government only wants to reinforce a regulatory ban on assault-style firearms such as the AR-15 by enshrining a definition in legislation, Mendicino said in an interview.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is accusing the Conservatives of “whipping up fear” that the Liberal government is outlawing ordinary long guns and hunting rifles.

The government only wants to reinforce a regulatory ban on assault-style firearms such as the AR-15 by enshrining a definition in legislation, and it is prepared to work with MPs to get it right, Mendicino said in an interview.

“The government has no intention — no intention whatsoever — to go after long guns and hunting rifles,” he said. “And this is simply Conservative fearmongering.”

In May 2020, the Liberal government announced a ban through order-in-council on more than 1,500 models and variants of what it considers assault-style firearms, such as the AR-15 and the Ruger Mini-14.

The Liberals recently proposed including an evergreen definition of a prohibited assault-style firearm in gun-control legislation being studied by the House of Commons public safety committee.

The description is intended to ensure gun manufacturers can’t tweak designs of prohibited firearms in a bid to get around the ban and reintroduce them to the Canadian market.

Among other technical specifications, the proposed definition includes a centrefire semi-automatic rifle or shotgun designed to accept a detachable magazine that can hold more than five cartridges.

The Conservatives claim the government’s amendment amounts to the most significant hunting rifle ban in the history of Canada.