Supreme Court reserves decision on whether federal firearms ban should stand

Résumé détaillé

The question of whether the federal government had the authority to ban hundreds of makes and models of firearms is now in the hands of the country's top court after it heard…

The question of whether the federal government had the authority to ban hundreds of makes and models of firearms is now in the hands of the country's top court.

Over the past two days the justices of the Supreme Court of Canada have heard arguments from gun advocates and other interested parties challenging the Justin Trudeau-era policy outlawing hundreds of makes and models, including the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14.

In 2020, the government leaned on its regulatory powers to ban the use, sale and importation of some 1,500 firearms following the Nova Scotia mass killing, the worst in modern Canadian history. The banned list has since grown to 2,500 varieties with Ottawa arguing "their inherent deadliness makes them unsuitable for civilian use and a serious threat to public safety given the degree to which they can increase the severity of mass shootings."

The 2020 regulations were challenged by licensed firearm owners, hunters, sport shooters and the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights — the country's gun lobby.

Their case centres on whether the government had the authority to ban guns via an order issued by Governor in Council — effectively the federal cabinet. Under the Criminal Code, the cabinet can't use regulations to outlaw a firearm if it considers that gun "reasonable for use in Canada for hunting or sporting purposes."

The government's lawyers have argued that Parliament has long empowered cabinet with broad discretionary authority to prohibit firearms in the interest of public safety and that there are other non-prohibited firearms available for hunting and sport shooting.

The Federal Court previously ruled in Ottawa's favour, dismissing a request from opponents to strike down the ban for being beyond the scope of the powers of cabinet

Last year, the Federal Court of Appeal rejected an appeal of that decision.

Court of Appeal Chief Justice Yves de Montigny wrote that "surely, the inherent danger that some firearms pose to public safety" and "the increasing demand…

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