A prominent gun control advocacy group is repeating its call for an immediate end to new sales of SKS rifles following the deadly shooting in Montreal on Monday.
Although police have not publicly confirmed which type of firearm was used by the suspect in the shooting that left Montreal police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane and civilian Michel Mizrahi dead, Radio-Canada has confirmed it was an SKS rifle — a semi-automatic rifle of Russian origin that dates back to the 1950s.
In a media statement Thursday, the group PolySeSouvient urged the federal Liberals to halt new sales of SKS models, saying it would close an obvious gap and send a clear signal.
Since May 2020, Ottawa has outlawed about 2,500 types of firearms on the basis they belong only on the battlefield.
It has not banned the SKS rifle, which is commonly used in Indigenous communities to hunt for food.
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It also has been used in police killings and other high-profile shootings in recent years.
Ottawa says it is carrying out a broad review of Canada’s firearms classification regime that will include consultations with Indigenous communities on the SKS.
Prime Minister Mark Carney was asked at a news conference Thursday whether the Liberal government would ban the SKS. Carney noted the government is reviewing the firearms classification regime.
“We’re hearing from subject matter experts, such as the RCMP. They will advise us on which firearms we should look to ban,” Carney said. “That’s all I have to say on the matter for now.”
PolySeSouvient is calling for a “precise and accelerated schedule” for consultations and regulatory action on existing SKS rifles.
“The current pace is indefensible, and there is no official timeline,” the group’s statement says. “These weapons remain widely available, repeatedly linked to violence, and treated with a leniency they do not merit.”
A timeline of Montreal’s deadly Côte-des-Neiges shooting
Ottawa has initiated a compensation program for owners of banned firearms who turn in or deactivate their guns.
As things stand, owners who declared their prohibited firearms under the buyback program “can take public money and buy a new SKS rifle,” PolySeSouvient says.
“That is not public safety. It is a taxpayer-funded farce that leaves the same deadly threat on the market under a different name.”
