Handgun sales surge in Kelowna as import ban approaches

Dan Shemley usually has glass cases displaying handguns at his store.

But the shelves at Great North Precision in Kelowna are bare and likely will remain that way as Ottawa is set to fast-track its proposed import ban.

“There is no better gun salesman than the government changing the rules,” the warehouse manager told Kelowna10. “When they made the original announcement … I opened my doors at 9:30 in the morning and by 11, I was sold out.”

The federal government tabled gun control legislation in May that includes a national freeze on the importation, purchase, sale, and transfer of handguns in Canada. That law did not pass before Parliament took its summer break and is set to be debated again when MPs return to Ottawa in the fall.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced Friday that the feds plan to fast-track the import ban without the approval of Parliament using a regulatory measure that comes into effect in two weeks.

The change will act as a stopgap until a permanent freeze is passed in Parliament and comes into force.

The temporary ban will prevent stores from stocking up on guns while the bill makes its way through the House of Commons and the Senate, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said.

Government trade data shows Canada imported $26.4 million worth of pistols and revolvers between January and June — a 52 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

Shemley said most recent handgun buyers are people who were on the fence, worried they may not be able to get their hands on one ever again. Other buyers, he said, simply want to get into target shooting.

To buy a handgun in Canada, you must have a restricted firearms licence and be a member of a licenced range.

Bill C-21, he said, misses the mark and won’t undercut the criminal market. Even after it passes, he said anyone looking for a gun could put the word out on the street and will still likely find one within the day.

“Laws affect law-abiding people,” he said. “The only reason I have a lock on the front door of my house is to keep out honest people.”

Spending money on other means of controlling gun violence, like policing, education, and mental health supports, would do more to cut down crime, he said.

-With files from The Canadian Press and David Hanson