Public Safety committee  Preparing, tabling, analyzing and studying a bill is a lengthy and painstaking process. At present, we can't take advantage of the favourable circumstances brought about by Bill C‑21. We have appeared before the committee on several occasions, and we are well aware that the proc

Public Safety committee  If we have a definition, the manufacturers will not be able to lie about what they are proposing to Canadians. Today, there is just a list; the manufacturers put a new firearm on the market and they include in the description of the firearm the characteristics that mean it can be

Public Safety committee  A definition is required. It's essential for the bill, because once adopted, it will be evergreen. Since 1990, there have been many lists, but the market is huge and corporate innovations are endless. Without a clear definition, we'll be chasing our own tail again. It makes no s

Public Safety committee  Good afternoon, and thank you Mr. Chair. In 1991 and 1995, the Conservative and Liberal governments, respectively, banned a list of assault weapons. However, owing to the absence of a comprehensive evergreen definition in the act, new models of assault weapons began to flood int

Public Safety committee  After what happened at the Polytechnique in 1989, the first thing we did was to ask for a ban on this type of weapon in Canada. We were students at the time. There are photographs of me, Heidi and other classmates. We were between 22 and 24 years old. We made the request to the

Public Safety committee  I do understand how proud Canadian Olympic shooting champions are. I had the privilege of meeting a shooter when I was working with the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee. Nonetheless, I would go as far as to require guarantees from the Shooting Federation of Canada that all i

Public Safety committee  What is worrying us is seeing how more and more Canadians are looking to protect themselves with firearms. We see it, we hear it and it's in the media. Giving all sorts of exemptions would legitimize people's desire to protect themselves with a firearm. That is the most dangerous

Public Safety committee  My name is Nathalie Provost. I am the spokesperson for PolySeSouvient, and I am also one of the persons wounded during the femicide that took place at the Polytechnique. I will be speaking with one of my former classmates, Heidi Rathjen, the coordinator for PolySeSouvient. Here