Charest non-committal over ending Liberal gun ban

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At his campaign launch in Calgary, former Quebec Liberal premier Jean Charest would not commit to killing Justin Trudeau's new slate of firearms confiscations and backdoor registry.

Charest, instead, said the way the province of Quebec has dealt with remaining long-gun registry data after the program was euthanized by former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper in 2011 was “the long and the short on that and very simple to do.”

At his campaign launch in Calgary, former Quebec Liberal premier Jean Charest would not commit to killing Justin Trudeau's new slate of firearms confiscations and backdoor registry.

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In May 2020, Prime Minister Trudeau banned 1,500 popular models of Canadian rifles and shotguns, calling the firearms “assault-style” though some models were as small as a .410 and were deemed dangerous because they were in blackface — with black plastic stocks.

The ban was done outside of any debate in the House of Commons through an order in council.

The Trudeau gun ban also requires retailers to maintain a pseudo-registry of purchases to be made available to police.

Charest's position on allowing police to maintain firearms data is in stark contrast with the Conservative Party's position on firearms rights.

The Harper government fought for two years to have the remaining long-gun data illegally maintained by Quebec police services destroyed after ending the registry brought in by former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien in 1995.

At the time, public safety minister Vic Toews said his Conservative government was proud to stand up for farmers and hunters — “unlike Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and Thomas Mulcair’s NDP.”