Roundup: Cynicism around new gun laws

Posted on by

We’re now on or about day ninety-seven of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the fighting has intensified in Sievierodonetsk, which Russia is trying to take before more Western arms arrive in Ukraine’s hands. Meanwhile, here is a slideshow of life in Mariupol now that the Russians have seized the city after laying waste to it.

Elsewhere, Europe has been trying to institute a ban on Russian oil in order to cut off Russia’s finances, but this has only been partially successful. To that end, all imports coming by sea have been banned, but crude by pipeline is still being allowed, which is only about a third of the total volume. Hungary has been a holdout in this, because they want guarantees that their oil supply security will be maintained (and Orban has been something of an ally of Putin, so that doesn’t help matters any).

Closer to home, the government used the opportunity of the most recent school shooting in the US to table their latest gun control legislation, which includes a freeze on handgun sales or transfers in this country rather than an outright ban, as well as a mandatory buy-back programme for assault-style rifles, and a new “red flag” system for licenses. While there isn’t a lot of daylight between the parties on these issues, there is nevertheless some very crass cynicism deep within the Liberal proposal. Matt Gurney lays a lot of it out in this thread (which I won’t reproduce entirely here because it’s long), which is worthwhile considering.

https://twitter.com/mattgurney/status/1531308859649888261

https://twitter.com/mattgurney/status/1531384075742765056

https://twitter.com/mattgurney/status/1531385918531182593

https://twitter.com/mattgurney/status/1531387184795852807

Good reads:

  • Louise Arbour released her report on fixing the problem of military sexual misconduct, but we’ll see if the government actually implements it robustly.
  • Carla Qualtrough announced $247 million for 25,000 skilled trade apprenticeship positions around the country.
  • Karina Gould says that the immigration department lowballed their estimates for passport renewals, which is partly why there wasn’t enough staff to meet demand.
  • Climate change is threatening our country’s maple syrup production.
  • The Ethics Commissioner has opened an investigation into whether Mary Ng improperly awarded a contract to a Liberal strategist.
  • A former Clerk of the Privy Council says that there isn’t much trust left between ministers and civil servants thanks to centralisation and a focus on rules.
  • The Canada Day line-up has been announced, and finalized that the festival will be off Parliament Hill (because a third of the lawn is a giant pit right now).

Odds and ends:

My latest for National Magazine delves into the court decision on parliamentary privilege as it relates to NSICOP, and where that leaves the state of oversight.

I was on Simi Sara’s morning show on CKNW in Vancouver to talk about the Conservative leadership race (and Obi-Wan Kenobi!)

Want more Routine Proceedings? Become a patron and get exclusive new content.

One thought on “Roundup: Cynicism around new gun laws”

  1. The Liberals are still pussy-footing around gun legislation. For Canadians without specific government approved licenses handguns have no place in our society. The Liberals propose that those Canadians who have legitimate possession will not be able to sell trade transfer their handguns or buy additional ones. The legislation should have powerful sentencing guidelines. First, ten thousand dollars for disobeying the new law for grandfathered owners plus a year in jail. Six years and one hundred thousand for the second offence, three years in jail. For citizens who commit any crime with a gun the penalty will be one hundred thousand dollars for that crime on top of the jail time for the offence committed. For those who are caught smuggling guns of any type an automatic penalty of five years in Jail with a two hundred thousand dollar minimum fine. These penalties just might get the advocates and criminals’ attention. I don’t see the Liberals or anyone else having the guts to protect us from these weapons of mass destruction.

Comments are closed.