Critics question delay in implementing B.C. gun law

B.C.'s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Nina Krieger. Photo by Greg Southam /10110634A

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The provincial government should have acted earlier to implement legislation, which has been on the books for five years, targeting illegal firearms, critics said Tuesday.

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On Monday, B.C. Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger said that would finally happen later this year.

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“Gun-related violence has a profound effect on communities, and it continues to be a serious threat to public safety in British Columbia,” Krieger said. “By closing the gaps in gun laws, we are providing police with new ways to go after gangs and criminals, and keep people and businesses in all our communities safe.”

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The act would target anyone discharging firearms from vehicles as well as those illegally transporting guns in cars. The act allows for fines, vehicle seizures, and in some instances, jail terms, Krieger said.

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The law would also ban sales of low-velocity and imitation firearms — including BB, pellet and airsoft guns — to anyone under 18.

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Another section of the act permits “an authorized professional” to notify a police force if they believe a person to whom that authorized professional provides professional services intends to use a firearm or imitation firearm to cause harm to themselves or another person.

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Firearms expert Frank Grosspietsch, who spent 15 years with the RCMP’s national weapons enforcement support team, was on the task force that made recommendations in 2017.

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He said Tuesday it was puzzling that the government was re-announcing a law that passed five years ago but not implemented.

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“This is old news,” Grosspietsch said.

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He also said that many of the issues addressed in the provincial legislation from 2021 are already covered by the Criminal Code, although charges are not always laid by Crown prosecutors in B.C.

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A more effective approach would have been to look at why more charges related to firearms offences aren’t laid in the province, Grosspietsch said.

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“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been contacted by police officers who’ve done thorough investigations. They call me, saying that the Crown will not go forward with the charges,” he said.

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Former Mountie Elenore Sturko, now the Independent MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, said, “If these were going to be such effective tools, I don’t understand why it would have taken five years to actually enact these regulations.”

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Not only has the Lower Mainland been dealing with an extortion crisis over the past two years, “but we’ve continued to have gang activity throughout the province,” Sturko said.