Current MP Robert Sopuck and former MP Inky Mark are offering different takes on Bill C-42.
The proposed bill would see the possession only license for firearms and the possession and acquisition license for firearms be merged together.
Sopuck says he’s supportive of this Bill saying it would address concerns he’s heard from the outdoors and sport shooting community.
"For example, a year and a half ago a perfectly legitimate firearm was reclassified as a prohibited firearm by the RCMP, and that caused outrage across the country because this was a completely unnecessary move. So the final decision on the classification of firearms for example, will now rest with the minister after appropriate technical advice. A lot of these things that the outdoors and sport shooting community told us were still concerns, C-42 deals with that."
Meanwhile Mark, who will be running as an independent candidate in this year’s election, called the Bill a pre-election gimmick by the Harper government that doesn’t change things for firearms owners.
"They spin it as it's supposed to loosen up the transportation or firearms, but the problem is with all the restricted firearms you can only transport them to a certified range, and they still have to be safely stored. To me it's more gimmick than fact. It doesn't the fact that legal firearms owners are still deemed to be criminals in waiting when their paper license expires. That hasn't changed."
Senate approval is still needed before the Bill becomes official, and Sopuck says he’s confident the bill will be approved.
