Liberals put forward new amendments to gun legislation following initial backlash

The Liberal government is introducing a revised set of amendments to its pending gun legislation after dropping some initial changes that sparked outcry from firearm owners.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Tuesday the amendments to Bill C-21 include a new definition of prohibited firearms that encompasses certain "assault-style" rifles.

"These reforms are about keeping AR-15 assault-style firearms off of our streets while at the same time respecting gun owners," he told a press conference.

In May 2020, the government announced a ban on roughly 1,500 makes and models of military-grade and "assault-style" weapons in Canada.

But gun control advocates have been calling for an "evergreen" definition of prohibited guns that would include more models and could apply to any future designs.

In February, the Liberals withdrew a series of controversial amendments that included such a definition after some firearms owners argued it would have unfairly targeted hunters and farmers.

Those clauses effectively would have banned any rifle or shotgun that could accept a magazine with more than five rounds, long guns that generate more than 10,000 joules of energy, or any gun with a muzzle wider than 20 millimetres  — rules that would have rendered many firearms illegal.

Mendicino said the government came up with a revised definition after consulting with manufacturers, hunters and Indigenous communities.

The new proposed definition would cover weapons that fire in a "semi-automatic manner" and were "originally designed" to accept a magazine with more than five rounds.

The definition would only apply to firearms manufactured after Bill C–21 becomes law, meaning owners would be allowed to keep what they currently have.

Gun control advocates aren't happy with the changes. Nathalie Provost, a survivor of the 1989 Montreal Massacre, said the definition creates a "loophole" that leaves out too many models. She also raised concerns about the definition not being applied retroactively.

"[Our] request is very simple — a permanent and complete ban on assault-style weapons," Provost said.

Heidi Rathjen, a witness to the 1989 massacre, said the changes "watered down" what the Liberals originally promised.

"It is another betrayal of all the victims of mass shootings," she said.