Government Motion (28 November 2022)

From Hansard (28 November 2022)

 

Federal Firearms Legislation

The Assembly was debating the following motion moved by the Honourable Christine Tell, Minister of Corrections, Policing & Public Safety:

"That this House condemns and denounces the most recent attack on lawful firearms owners by the Liberal-NDP coalition federal government through amendments to Bill C-21, which the Chief Firearms Officer of Saskatchewan estimates will instantly criminalize approximately 75,000 Saskatchewan residents; and further,  

This House calls on the Government of Saskatchewan to explore all options to protect the rights of law-abiding firearms owners. "

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Mr. Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Happy to be on my feet and speak to the motion brought forward by my colleague, the Minister of Policing and Corrections.

This spring, the coalition NDP-Liberal government brought forward Bill C-21 which prohibited the sale of handguns and socalled assault rifles which, Mr. Deputy Speaker, are not real things as there is no true definition of them. Many of the constituents of Last Mountain-Touchwood were incredibly angry at this legislation but not surprised at this federal coalition government’s incessant use of wedge politics to further their own agenda.

Firearms owners in Canada, Mr. Deputy Speaker, are literally the most scrutinized segment of society. They undergo daily checks through the Canadian Police Information Centre or CPIC, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And we are not the problem.

I want to read a quote into the record, Mr. Deputy Speaker. “Restricting lawful handgun ownership will not meaningfully address the real issue, which is illegal firearms, illegal handguns obtained from United States.” Now this quote is from the head of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Regina’s chief of police, Evan Bray, testifying before a House of Commons committee.

Now, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we all want safer communities and less crime, but this legislation will do nothing to improve anyone’s safety. At the end of May when this legislation was first tabled, I went into many sporting goods small businesses in the province, Mr. Deputy Speaker, just to see how businesses were dealing with this latest legislative change. And every store I went into was absolutely packed. People were purchasing certain firearms before they were banned, and many of the owners I talked to, they informed me they sold a whole year’s worth of inventory in a few days. Like it was literally panic buying at its finest moment, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

And you know, it was a really different feeling just visiting with random people. They were very disappointed in the federal government and were really looking for the provincial government to take a stand. And, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this government will always stand with our hunters, our farmers, and all of our law-abiding firearms owners.

Now this federal government, fully supported by the members opposite, brings forward this amendment to Bill C-21, which will ban thousands of regular hunting rifles that have been used for decades, you know. And the use of an amendment is not a very transparent way of bringing forward legislation, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

So yesterday my daughter and her friend were out hunting, and they shot a little four-point buck, Mr. Deputy Speaker. But my daughter, with this amendment, with her favourite .243 would have her . . . This firearm would be banned with this legislation, Mr. Deputy Speaker. And my daughter is not a criminal. She’s a nursing student. She enjoys the outdoors. She enjoys hunting. You know, she’s not a bad person. She’s a great person. But this legislation, these laws would make her a potential criminal if she used her favourite rifle that is . . . I mean, it’s not as old as the member for Cut Knife-Turtleford but it’s very close. And you know, she loves the outdoors, and she really enjoys providing food for herself and all of her family.

Now my wife, Mr. Deputy Speaker, she does not like firearms, but she understands just because you don’t like something that’s not an acceptable reason to ban something. She enjoys eating the food that my daughter harvests, and you know, she’s getting very talented at preparing wild game. But she also understands that this is a tool that we need living on the farm, and she’s very, very happy to see it when you need it.

You know, this amendment, Mr. Deputy Speaker, is just another example of the federal government slowly stripping us of the privilege to own firearms. And to what end? These changes will do nothing for public safety, and they will do absolutely nothing to lower crime rates.

Now I was very happy to see the member from Regina Rosemont and Regina Douglas Park speak in favour of this motion. It’s very critical that we all know how each of us stand on the issues. You know, I’m looking forward to hearing more members opposite speak on this. And you know, the Leader of the Opposition’s own father owns a guiding business, and this . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . yeah, that’s humorous.

You know, this legislation is going to affect all of these small businesses across the province. These American hunters come up, and they’re great people. And they always bring their own firearms with them, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and this legislation would ban them from bringing those firearms. Like at this time after COVID, when the tourism sector is hurting as badly as it is, why do we want to do anything else to hurt those small businesses? It makes absolutely no sense.

You know, I joined the member from Cut Knife-Turtleford and we toured Buck Paradise, a great outfitting business in northwestern Saskatchewan. And you know, they were really safety conscious, and this thing is really going to hurt their business.

You know, the other evening, Mr. Deputy Speaker, firefighters had an opportunity for all of the elected officials to meet and greet and discuss issues and everything else. It was very well attended by my colleagues. It was very well attended by the members opposite. And it was a great evening. And as much as we like to talk about policy and everything else, you know, most people really honestly don’t. We began talking about hunting, and it’s hunting season, and that was the number one topic of conversation. So everyone began talking about, you know, what they got, what they got last year, what they’re hoping to get, the ones that got away. It was a very good evening of visiting and information gathering.

So I just want to end, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that, you know, we support all of our licensed firearm owners across this province. We support our farmers. We support our ranchers. And I’m really looking forward to listening more from the members opposite. And I support the motion moved by the Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

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