Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 8, 2023. A battle appears to be brewing between senators and Mendicino, as he tries to see the Liberals' controversial gun legislation passed swiftly into law. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – A battle appears to be brewing between senators and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, as he tries to see the Liberals’ controversial gun legislation passed swiftly into law.
His office sent a letter to leaders of the different Senate groups and the chair of a committee, saying the minister is “eager” answer senators’ questions about Bill C-21.
The letter comes with less than a month left before the House of Commons and Senate plan to break for summer, with the Liberals branding the legislation as a legislative priority.
The bill seeks to turn a national handgun freeze into law, combat homemade guns and ban what it calls “assault-style” weapons.
The government’s attempts to define which weapons are included have led to outrage from Conservatives, Indigenous communities and other firearms owners who say commonly used hunting rifles would fall under the proposed law – which the Liberals say was not the intent.
Conservative Senate leader Don Plett accused Mendicino of having “unmitigated gall” in asking senators to hurry when MPs spent months studying the bill before it passed in the House of Commons last month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
