Garry Breitkreuz, Member of Parliament for Yorkton-Melville, has announced that the Government of Canada is deferring the implementation of the United Nation's Firearms Marking Regulations for two years, until December 1, 2015.
Compliance with the U.N. marking regulations has been deferred by successive federal governments since becoming law in 2004 because the regulations are too cumbersome and costly for the firearms industry to comply with says Breitkreuz. "Firearms importers weren't even consulted before these regulations were introduced by the previous Liberal government. As currently written, many firearms manufacturers would have to undergo significant and costly retooling - crippling a viable industry and making Canada's hunting and other gun sports in Canada increasingly unaffor-dable. We're talking about a multi-billion dollar industry that would simply close shop in Canada putting thousands of Canadians out of work," he says.
Canada signed, but did not ratify, the U.N. Firearms Protocol in 2004, drafted to regulate the international movement of firearms. The marking of firearms is one of several requirements of the international treaty. To comply, Canada requires regulations for the marking of firearms. "The current system in Canada works just fine," says Breitkreuz. "These U.N. regulations will not increase public safety in this country. Having an international body regulate the domestic affairs of member nations is ridiculous. Its 'one-size-fits-all' approach is completely unrealistic."
The government has deferred the marking regulations in order to consult on the best solution for this legitimate licensed industry, including the possibility of repealing these regulations that Breitkreuz says, have now sat dormant for nearly a decade.
