The federal government is tabling legislation to toughen Canada's gun laws, including allowing municipalities to ban handguns by restriciting people's ability to possess, store and transport them.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said new penalties are also in the works that will include jail time for those who flout municipal handgun bylaws.
Trudeau also announced a long-talked-about buyback program for a range of banned firearms.
In terms of enforcement, the prime minister said there will be tougher penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking, as well as beefing up the capacity of police and border officers to combat illegal guns. Canada will also have new laws to punish those who alter firearms to make them more deadly and create new rules to govern the import of ammunition.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was live from The Sir John A. Macdonald Building in Ottawa. He was virtually joined by Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Joël Lightbound.
