REGINA – The federal government is evaluating Canada’s gun laws but will likely add another layer of laws before the evaluation is done, says Saskatchewan justice minister Bob Mitchell.
Mitchell said his department received a letter from the federal justice department asking for provincial input on an evaluation of present gun laws.
The letter refers to the 1993 auditor general’s report which called for an evaluation to ensure present gun laws are effective.
The letter says an evaluation is necessary because there has been no statistical analysis of the effects previous gun law changes have had on the rates of firearms deaths and crimes over time.
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Anti-gun law groups have been calling for a federal evaluation ever since federal justice minister Allan Rock announced he would introduce new gun laws, but Mitchell said an evaluation won’t accomplish anything if the federal government presses on with the new law before an evaluation is completed.
“It’s just absurd,” he said. “We have no idea in Canada whether we’re on the right track with respect to our existing gun laws and we’ve been adding to those laws over the years without anybody stopping and asking: Are we doing anything worthwhile? Is there any purpose?”
Mitchell met with provincial anti-gun law groups to discuss the provincial government’s strategy to fight the proposed law.
He said a Saskatchewan delegation representing all three parties in the provincial legislature would go to Ottawa and make a presentation to the standing committee holding public hearings on the law.
Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation executive director Ed Begin said he is skeptical of anything being accomplished by the hearings.
“I have absolutely no faith in Allan Rock changing his mind on any of this with other than brute force,” said Begin.
