Public Safety committee  That's correct.

Public Safety committee  You're asking me a personal question.

Public Safety committee  We're here to answer questions regarding Bill C‑21 and the motions before us.

Public Safety committee  Due process of law includes the parliamentary process by which Parliament decides which firearms may or may not be prohibited. Whether or not the government decides to compensate owners in the future is....

Public Safety committee  I think as we've already answered, the Canadian Bill of Rights applies to federal legislation. Once federal legislation has been passed, that authorizes or permits that property rights are subsumed by the federal legislation. Then following that passage of legislation that could or would prohibit future firearms, anything that follows is done as a policy decision made by the government.

Public Safety committee  I don't think there's anything else we can add to your question.

Public Safety committee  That's correct.

Public Safety committee  I can't answer that question. That falls within solicitor-client privilege. I can answer any question related to the bill as presented in Parliament and any question related to the motions.

Public Safety committee  I understand that.

Public Safety committee  What I can say is that the Supreme Court ruled—I think it was in 1991 or 1992, in the firearms reference case—that there is no right in Canada to possess firearms.

Public Safety committee  Go ahead.

Public Safety committee  Future steps with respect to how the newly prohibited firearms would be treated have not been determined at this point. I would remind you, though, when the May 1 OIC came into effect, there was an amnesty order. That gave lawful owners an opportunity to either dispose of their firearms or, otherwise, come into compliance with the new law.

Public Safety committee  What I was saying was that for the OIC of May 1, 2020, an amnesty order was included the moment the firearms became prohibited. Firearms owners were not exposed to criminal liability. There was an amnesty order in place. I cannot comment as to what would happen if there were an order in council bringing these provisions into force, but I can refer you back to what the government has done historically.

Public Safety committee  The justification that you're referring to applies to firearms that are prohibited by regulation. That's a limitation on the Governor in Council's ability to exercise their discretion to determine whether a specific firearm should be prohibited. The democratic process is what would be used to debate whether these firearms should be prohibited through legislation.

Public Safety committee  The ability of the Governor in Council to prescribe firearms is a delegated power that comes from Parliament.