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NEWS RELEASE

 

December 2, 2013
For Immediate Release

GOVERNMENT DEFERS GUN MARKING
REGULATIONS FOR 2 YEARS

 

OTTAWA – Garry Breitkreuz, Member of Parliament for Yorkton-Melville, is pleased to announce that the Government of Canada is deferring the implementation of the United Nation’s Firearms Marking Regulations for two years, until December 1, 2015.

Compliance with the U.N. marking regulations has been deferred by successive federal governments since becoming law in 2004 because the regulations are too cumbersome and costly for the firearms industry to comply with. “Firearms importers weren’t even consulted before these regulations were introduced by the previous Liberal government,” said Breitkreuz. As currently written, many firearms manufacturers would have to undergo significant and costly retooling – crippling a viable industry and making Canada’s hunting and other gun sports in Canada increasingly unaffordable. “We’re talking about a multi-billion dollar industry that would simply close shop in Canada putting thousands of Canadians out of work,” Breitkreuz noted.

Canada signed, but did not ratify, the U.N. Firearms Protocol in 2004, drafted to regulate the international movement of firearms. The marking of firearms is one of several requirements of the international treaty. To comply, Canada requires regulations for the marking of firearms. “The current system in Canada works just fine,” explained Breitkreuz. “These U.N. regulations will not increase public safety in this country. Having an international body regulate the domestic affairs of member nations is ridiculous. Its ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is completely unrealistic.”

The government has deferred the marking regulations in order to consult on the best solution for this legitimate licensed industry, including the possibility of repealing these regulations that have now sat dormant for nearly a decade. “I look forward to working with federal Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, my colleagues in Parliament and representatives of the Canadian firearms industry, to bring this matter to a successful conclusion,” Breitkreuz remarked. “The Government of Canada remains focussed on common-sense measures to keep Canadians safe, without needlessly burdening law-abiding firearms owners”.

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