Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The amendments that were introduced were not done in a “sneaky” fashion; they were done in a committee in the other place. More importantly, the government will always respect hunters, sports shooters and Indigenous peoples and their traditions. The government is not targeting hunting rifles or shotguns.

I know there has been confusion on this point, so let me be clear. Many of the hunting rifles mentioned recently in the media are not being prohibited, and that includes the one that was a part of a well-known photo by a very well-known personality from my hometown of Montreal. This is largely a matter of misunderstanding where, for example, a common hunting rifle also has a high-powered version. It is only the high-powered version that would be prohibited under the amendments introduced into the bill.

Having said all of that, as the Prime Minister has made clear, he and the government are open to feedback to make sure that firearms mainly used for hunting are not included in the prohibition. The bill, which I hope we will receive and have the opportunity to study properly and fully as we have always done, is about the guns that were used in the massacre at l’École Polytechnique, in a mosque in Quebec City and in South Simcoe. This is a bill to protect safe communities for Canadians.