Liberal gun control bill instilling assault-style firearm definition passes House of Commons

The federal Liberal government's gun control legislation Bill C-21 passed the House of Commons on Thursday. While the majority of MPs voted to see the bill pass into the Senate, two Liberal MPs who represent northern ridings sided with the Conservatives in voting against the legislation.

The federal Liberal government's gun control legislation Bill C-21 passed the House of Commons on Thursday.

While the majority of MPs voted to see the bill pass into the Senate, two Liberal MPs who represent northern ridings sided with the Conservatives in voting against the legislation.

The bill, which passed nearly a year after it was first introduced, had an acrimonious journey through the House, and was significantly expanded from what was initially tabled in May 2022.

When Bill C-21 was first presented, the legislation focused on:

Earlier this month, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino put forward a series of revised amendments that significantly expanded the range of proposed gun control measures in the bill, alongside related regulatory changes being advanced through policy rather than Parliament, including reconstituting a federal firearms advisory committee.

Through the latest package of changes, the bill now also includes:

The definition passed by the House regarding the future-focused ban covers firearms that are not a handgun, that discharge centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner, and were originally designed with a detachable magazine with a capacity of six cartridges or more.