The House of Commons Public Safety committee is considering adding at least eight more meetings to hear from witnesses on a controversial Liberal amendment to ban hundreds more new models of semi automatic rifles and shotguns.
The amendment to proposed legislation Bill C-21 has garnered national attention as it targets some firearms primarily used by hunters, sport shooters, and farmers.
The committee met Tuesday to discuss a motion from Bloc Québécois MP Kristina Michaud to add two meetings to hear from more witnesses on the amendment.
Conservative Public Safety critic Raquel Dancho proposed to amend the motion to add 20 meetings. She also wants the committee to travel to rural, northern and Indigenous communities across Canada to hear from witnesses on how they would be impacted.
Dancho said the federal government “didn’t do their homework” on Bill C-21 and now it wants just two more meetings to discuss “the largest hunting rifle ban in Canadian history.”
“If we’re going to even adequately represent the Indigenous communities, we would need more than two meetings,” Dancho said.
“I do feel that it’s offensive to the people that are going to be impacted by this. It does not give them the dignity of having a seat at the table.”
Dancho agreed to a proposal from NDP MP Alistair MacGregor to have “at least eight more meetings.” His amendment passed with Conservatives, NDP and the Bloc voting in favour of it. All five Liberals MPs on the committee voted against it.
MacGregor also said there’s been outcry over the Liberal’s amendment to ban hundreds more more models or firearms, and said it’s the government’s responsibility to fix it.
“My Liberal colleagues have to wear that and take responsibility for that,” he said.
The committee clerk informed members that they likely wouldn’t be able to travel until April if they moved forward with Dancho’s proposal to travel to Canadians.
Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed wondered what the committee would do until then, saying the answer would impact his vote on Dancho’s amendment.
Members were discussing whether it would be appropriate for the committee to extend consideration of Bill 21 for travel time when the hearing reached its two-hour mark and was suspended.
Members will meet again on Thursday.
