When we attempt to show people what the endgame of socialism looks like, many point to the example of Venezuela, where Nicolas Maduro has plunged his nation into a pit of poverty, corruption, and oppression. But in the past few years, a more disturbing example can be found across America’s northern border in Canada. Since the beginning of the pandemic, few leaders have grabbed the reins of authoritarian power more firmly and gleefully than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. When truckers attempted to peacefully protest certain government policies, he had their vehicles seized and locked many of them up. Others, who did nothing more than hold up signs supporting the truckers had their personal property seized and were similarly put behind bars. And now, in response to a horrific school shooting that happened in a different country, he’s putting a “freeze” on the sale or transfer of all handguns and even toys that resemble handguns. Other restrictions are being imposed as well. (Reuters)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday his government was introducing new legislation to implement a “national freeze” on handgun ownership and prevent people from buying and selling handguns anywhere in the country.

“The day this legislation goes into effect it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns in Canada,” Trudeau told reporters.

If passed, the freeze on handguns is expected to come into force in the autumn. Canada’s public safety minister has tabled regulatory amendments in parliament to ensure it can be implemented swiftly, according to a ministry statement.

So this isn’t a complete “ban” in the formal sense of the word. There won’t be any confiscation of legally owned handguns (yet). But if you don’t already have one, you won’t be getting one when this law goes into effect. No one will be able to buy, sell, or otherwise transfer a handgun in Canada unless it’s for the use of the military or law enforcement. They will also double down on the ban on Airsoft toy handguns that was enacted in February of 2021. The government will additionally step up gun “buybacks” from anyone who can be convinced to surrender their firearms.

Long rifles will still be allowed, but new restrictions are being imposed. The bill will require all long-gun magazines to be permanently altered at the owner’s expense so they can’t hold more than five rounds. The sale or transfer of magazines holding more than five rounds will be illegal.

Trudeau wasn’t making any effort to hide his disdain for the idea of firearms being used as a means of self-defense. During a press conference, he explained that such an idea was simply not applicable to Canada.

“Other than using firearms for sport shooting and hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives,” Trudeau told reporters at a briefing.

Unfortunately for our neighbors to the north, they don’t have the equivalent of our Second Amendment in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Of course, with Trudeau in charge, it probably wouldn’t matter if they did. The Charter does include a “Fundamental right to belief, opinion, and expression,” as well as a right to “peaceful assembly and association.” But in the name of the pandemic, Trudeau has trampled over all of those rights without a second thought.

In Trudeau’s view of the world, you don’t have a “need” for a firearm unless you are hunting or target shooting. And even then, he will determine what types of firearms are acceptable. But perhaps Canadians are just so conditioned to being treated this way by the government that they simply don’t care? It certainly seems as if there would be more than enough public force available to take him down if that was the will of the people. In 2021 his party didn’t even carry a third of the vote. (They received 32.6%.) But the reality is that we have enough on our own plates to deal with in the United States these days. Nobody can help the Canadians if they don’t want to help themselves.