Canada’s latest firearm ban (otherwise known as Bill C-21) is receiving pushback from some of Canada’s biggest personalities, including active National Hockey League All-Star and Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price. The latest ban comes just a couple of months after a handgun ban went into affect, putting a stop to any handgun sales, purchases, or transfers in Canada.
Price, who is widely considered to be one of the best goalies ever to play in the NHL, took to his Instagram account to voice his opinion on the matter:
“I love my family, I love my country and I care for my neighbour. I am not a criminal or a threat to society. What Justin Trudeau is trying to do is unjust. I support the CCFR to keep my hunting tools. Thank you for listening to my opinion.”
Price is joined in his rejection of the proposed additions by fellow outspoken hockey player Theo Fleury, as well as other personalities such as celebrity chef Michael Hunter.
The legislation seeks to create a definition of a “prohibited assault-style firearm” for which no definition exists in Canadian law, despite the term being referred to many times in legislation already. At 309 pages, the proposed list would ban an large number of shotguns and rifles, including but not limited to what would be considered hunting rifles and shotguns, as well as those that would be used by military or police. Many popular Barrett, Sig Sauer, and Heckler and Koch firearms would be added to Canada’s already exhaustive weapons ban list, which often names very rare historical or collectible firearms.
Some conservative politicians in the country have spoken out against the ban, such as Conservative Member of Parliament Glen Motz, who said he thought “it was a deliberate attempt to mislead the Canadian public and mislead Parliament.“
The legislation was first announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in May 2022 on Twitter, with a message decreeing, “One Canadian killed by gun violence is one too many. That’s why we’ve banned 1,500 types of military-style assault firearms. And that’s why, today, we’ve introduced legislation to further strengthen gun control in Canada.”
As there has been no agreement under the law that defines the functionality nor any one type of firearms’ inherent dangers over another, Canadian legislation simply contains a list of banned firearms/weapons that has continuously been added to since 1998.