Applause for Appearing to be "Doing Something"

"Minister Blair is either too inept to comprehend the scope of his regulations -- or he lied to the government and Canadians."

Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA)

"I'm sure they're going to launch some kind of protest because their firearms are on the list while other firearms with very similar characteristics are not on the list."

"The list was incoherent."

"It was quite clear to us that those [related government] departments did not know this was coming, either."

Alison de Groot, managing director, CSAAA

A rifle owner checks the sight of his rifle at a hunting camp property in rural Ontario. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

The carnage caused by guns in the hands of criminals, gangs and psychopaths wounding and killing people, shocking the public which calls out for governmental intervention to stop the proliferation of gun ownership is not quite as simple as it seems, to respond effectively, beyond the smoke-and-mirror-effect of banning firearms entirely. Given the obvious, that rarely is it legal gun owners who commit these social atrocities, and that the black market in gun sales is the preferred route for the criminal element to obtain their firearms, control of gun sales beyond mandatory registration doesn't really seem the way to go.

Yet time and again Liberal governments have vowed to outlaw many types of firearms, specifically those that are rapid-fire, semi-automatic and clearly meant for use in areas of conflict. Canada, last month, experienced a horrific event in Nova Scotia of mass murder. The murderer appeared to have collected his arsenal of weaponry illegally. Banning the retail sale and registration of firearms as a response to such a dramatically painful loss of life makes little sense. Finding a way to stop the acquisition of arms illegally seems more worthwhile, even if virtually impossible.

Yet the Liberal government has now announced a firearm ban of "military-style" firearms. One that fails to include a Chinese-manufactured Norinco Type 97, a semi-automatic version of the standard-issued rifles in use with the People's Liberation Army of China. The Russian-designed SKS rifle, precursor to the AK-47, beloved of revolutionaries and terrorists groups alike, and the Israeli-made Tavor .223, a short-barrelled semi-automatic rifle, as well as the Canadian-made WK180-C, described as "function[ing] much like the AR-15", were excluded from the banned list. 

The ban, on the other hand, lists some bolt-action hunting rifles used for large game, leaving some gun retailers concerned the restrictions might extend to accessorized shotguns used in hunting birds, as a result of the broad language in the regulations. Last week, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair banned 11 broadly-defined firearm models, which encompass approximately 1,500 firearm variations.

According to the prime minister in his statement announcing the new regulations, all firearms included under the ban were designed with the explicit purpose to "kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time. You don't need an AR-15 to bring down a deer". The result is that those producers and retailers and their clients affected view the list as having been hastily assembled, arbitrarily excluding or including firearms. And Canadian companies now are left with unsaleable inventory.

Leading an industry association to call on the government to be prepared to reimburse those concerned by up to $1.1 billion. The regulations prohibit certain firearms while permitting their competitors, often based abroad -- to continue selling in Canada. Government officials in various departments were unable to respond to technical questions such as how shipments of now-prohibited firearms would be handled by authorities, points out Ms.DeGroot.

One key provision, it was pointed out by Minister Blair's office, was that semi-automatic rifles not included in the ban failed to meet certain thresholds; primarily that they be considered to be of "modern design", and are not "present in large volumes in the Canadian market", as per the new regulations. It can be noted that the Tavor .223 is a contemporary-style gun thought of as a modern take on the AR class of firearms, and the Chinese Type 97 is regularly sold at retailers across Canada.

"I'm stuck with hundreds of thousands of dollars in parts, accessories and firearms that have been made prohibited with the stroke of a pen", complained the president of retailer Wolverine Supplies based in Manitoba whose initial estimates suggest as much as 25 to 40 percent of his revenue will be evaporated thanks to the ban.

Semi-automatic rifles fill a wall at a gun shop. The federal government in Canada is poised to ban a variety of assault-style rifles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Elaine Thompson