OTTAWA-
A spokesperson for the Quebec mosque where six men were shot in 2017 is calling on Ottawa to pass a gun control bill being considered by MPs.
Boufeldja Benabdallah told the House of Commons Public Safety Committee today that the bill should be amended to include a comprehensive and permanent definition of prohibited assault-type firearms.
He says the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec wants this definition to include all assault-type semi-automatic weapons that could not reasonably be used for hunting.
The bill, introduced by the Liberal government in May, would “freeze” the buying, selling, transferring and importing of handguns into Canada.
The bill includes some exemptions for high-level shooters, but sports shooting groups have called for those exemptions to be expanded.
Ken Price of Danforth Families for Safe Communities told the committee he was concerned the exemptions would undermine the goal of reducing the number of guns in Canada.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 20, 2022.