Experts on Canada and International Gun Trafficking
“Bill C-19 will have an impact on the Canadian implementation of each of these four international instruments. At a time when the emerging international norms on firearms trafficking require more cooperation among states based on greater firearms accountability by states, Bill C-19 will open significant gaps in Canadian commitments. State partners will conclude that Canada has withdrawn support for strong regional and global action on firearms trafficking and on proliferation and misuse of small arms. Canada’s influence in multilateral small arms forums will be weakened accordingly.” – Kenneth Epps, Project Ploughshares
“Countries all around the world are strengthening their gun laws. Last week, we saw the U.S. finally join the process of managing the small arms trade at the UN. How ironic, then, that Canada is threatening to scrap its registry of rifles and shotguns. Canada’s legislation on firearms has been a model for other countries, frequently cited as an effective framework for protecting public safety. All this will be undermined if the registry is abolished.” – Rebecca Peters, Director, IANSA (International Action Network on Small Arms), London, U.K.
“Canada was an observer at the (Arms Trade Treaty) negotiations, with its few interventions focused on complaints about technical details. Unlike Australia, Mexico and the United Kingdom, Canada made no effort to bring states closer to the consensus agreement required in this UN process. And its primary interest during negotiations was protecting the rights of Canadian firearm owners. It is no secret that this focus stems from the influence of the gun lobby, which had a representative among the Canadian delegation.” – Kenneth Epps, Project Ploughshares
“The 2001 Programme of Action requires measures to ensure accurate records are kept for as long as possible on the manufacture, holding and transfer of firearms. The Firearms Protocol under the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime also requires the maintenance for not less than 10 years of information related to firearms and, where feasible, parts and ammunition. The Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking of Firearms, Explosives, and Other related Materials also requires maintenance for a reasonable time of information necessary to trace and identify illegally trafficked firearms. The UN international tracing instrument also requires that data be kept on firearm ownership. In the opinion of most of the international NGOs engaged in these processes, except perhaps the National Rifle Association, there is a view that eliminating the registration of firearms, particularly the elimination of any tracking at the point-of-sale, will basically undermine our international commitments to fight illegal trade in firearms.” – Wendy Cukier, President, Coalition for Gun Control
“Arms tend to flow from unregulated areas to regulated areas. A country like Canada, for example, may have strong gun laws but is vulnerable because of guns flowing from the United States. In the US there are almost as many guns as people – over 220 million – approximately one third of all the guns in the world. Not only do US guns present a problem for Canada, accounting for approximately half of the handguns recovered in crime, but US guns account for 80% of the crime guns in Mexico and have fuelled violence worldwide.” – International Perspective on Gun Control, Coalition for Gun Control
“Elimination of records of sale will prevent Canadian implementation of core provisions of these international firearms agreements. They also may impact imports of firearms into Canada. Recent European Union firearms regulations, for example, include specific assessment of international obligations, intended end use, and the risk of diversion of firearms exported by EU states. These raise important questions for Canada — in particular, has the Canadian government consulted with the EU on these regulations and does the Canadian government know how the elimination of records of sale will be assessed by EU exporters?” – Kenneth Epps, Project Ploughshares