Tough gun law gets royal assent today Eve of anniversary of shooting of 14 Montreal women By David Vienneau TORONTO STAR ProQuest document link ABSTRACT (ABSTRACT) OTTAWA - As of today, Canada will have what Prime Minister Jean Chretien describes as the toughest gun-control law in the western world. Controversial Bill C-68 is being given royal assent on the eve of the sixth anniversary of one of the darkest moments in Canadian history - the fatal shooting of 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. The deadly Ruger Mini-14 assault rifle Marc Lepine used to kill the students before shooting himself will be outlawed under Justice Minister Allan Rock's controversial law - although anyone who now owns one can keep it. FULL TEXT OTTAWA - As of today, Canada will have what Prime Minister Jean Chretien describes as the toughest gun-control law in the western world. Controversial Bill C-68 is being given royal assent on the eve of the sixth anniversary of one of the darkest moments in Canadian history - the fatal shooting of 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. The deadly Ruger Mini-14 assault rifle Marc Lepine used to kill the students before shooting himself will be outlawed under Justice Minister Allan Rock's controversial law - although anyone who now owns one can keep it. Dec. 6 is marked annually as a national day of remembrance of violence against women. PEACEFUL CHARACTER ``Granting royal assent is significant because it reaffirms our character as a peace-loving, non-violent nation,'' Rock said in an interview. ``We have decided to follow a different route from the United States where citizens are often encouraged to arm themselves for self-defence. We Canadians don't want our children and grandchildren growing up in a society like that.'' The law will crack down on the criminal misuse of firearms, provide stiff penalties for gun smuggling and for the first time require the registration of all guns. Beginning Jan. 1, 1998, and ending by 2003, Canada's 3 million gun owners will be required to register their 7 million firearms - including for the first time rifles and shotguns. PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 1 of 3 Failure to register carries a summary conviction fine of up to $2,000 and/or six months in jail. The penalty for a more serious indictable offence conviction would be up to five years in jail. Bill C-68 imposes a mandatory four-year jail sentence - the harshest minimum sentence in the Criminal Code - for anyone convicted of using a gun in a serious crime. The law also bans the sale and possession of many short- barrelled ``Saturday night special'' handguns which are easily concealed and not suitable for target shooting or collecting. There will also be a mandatory minimum prison sentence of a year for possession of a stolen firearm, trafficking in firearms or possession of a loaded, restricted weapon without a permit. The first impact the law will likely have on gun owners will come when they renew their firearms permit. Starting Jan. 1, a new, mandatory computerized system of registering gun owners will be implemented. Firearm's Acquisition Certificates (FACs) will cease to exist and be replaced by renewable, five-year Firearm's Possession Certificates (FPCs) that will be phased in over five years. Existing FACs will remain valid until their expiry date when they will be replaced by FPCs, which will cost $60. Current gun owners seeking to renew will have to mail in an application form and undergo a simple police check to ensure there is no court order prohibiting them from having a firearm. SIGNATURES NEEDED For those wishing to acquire a firearm or renew an FPC after five years, a more detailed security procedure will take place. Individuals will be required to provide two signatures from character references instead of just two names as is currently the case. Each FPC card will contain written information on one side, including the person's name, date of birth, authorizing signatures and an identifying number. The card will also contain a magnetic strip and a bar-code containing the same information. *** Infomart-Online *** Illustration PHOTO: ALLAN ROCK DETAILS Publication title: Toronto Star; Toronto, Ont. Pages: A.2 Number of pages: 0 PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 2 of 3 LINKS Database copyright 2022 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest Publication year: 1995 Publication date: Dec 5, 1995 Dateline: OTTAWA Section: NEWS Publisher: Torstar Syndication Services, a Division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited Place of publication: Toronto, Ont. Country of publication: Canada, Toronto, Ont. Publication subject: General Interest Periodicals--Canada ISSN: 03190781 Source type: Newspape r Language of publication: English Document type: NEWSPAPER ProQuest document ID: 437352528 Document URL: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/tough-gun-law-gets-royal-assent-today- eve/docview/437352528/se-2?accountid=5705 Copyright: (Copyright The Toronto Star) Last updated: 2017-11-15 Database: Canadian Newsstream PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 3 of 3