On September 5, Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole broke his pledge to his Conservative base and vowed to uphold Liberal firearms bans.
The Trudeau government instituted the bans in question in May 2020, wherein roughly 1,500 firearm makes and models were suddenly classified as “military-grade weapons,” commonly referred to as “assault weapons,” despite not being fully automatic.
O’Toole had previously promised to reverse these bans but submitting himself to the Liberal uniparty post-election is clearly more important than keeping his promises.
“As I’ve always said, the ban on assault weapons will remain in place,” O’Toole lied while responding to a reporter.
“You have not always said that, sir,” a reporter can be heard responding in turn truthfully.
“The ban on assault weapons will stay in place,” O’Toole continued, ignoring the reporter. “The restrictions put in place in 2020 will remain in place.
“The review that we’ve put in our plan to take the politics out of the classification system to make sure that decisions are grounded on science and facts and not on politics is in our plan.
“It’s a commitment that we’re making to Canadians. Because Canadians need to know we’re going to take public safety seriously,” O’Toole concluded.
O’Toole subsequently said he would maintain the status quo, leaving many wondering whether he will do so with all Liberal policies, such as mask mandates, lockdowns, and vaccine passports. If so, it is a wonder why anyone will vote Trudeau out of office if O’Toole plans to mimic him anyways.
O’Toole’s new policy reversal seems out of the blue but comes after days of Liberals attacking him over a possible deal made with the Canadian gun lobby.
Whether O’Toole struck such a deal or not, the outcome remains: to hell with Canadians’ rights; Liberal policies are here to stay.
