New Manitoba-made weapon a possible target for federal government ban

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/03/2020 (2037 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Virden-area’s Wolverine Supplies, one of the largest independent gun retailers in the country, has premiered its latest in-house design — a semi-automatic rifle called the WS-MCR — despite the Liberal government’s promise to ban those types of gun.

“The problem is, all we’re going on is rumour,” Wolverine’s founder, John Hipwell said about the possibility the Liberals will ban the very gun that Wolverine is introducing. “Worst-case scenario, it could finish the business, best-case scenario: very little change.”

Hipwell designed the firearm during his recent semi-retirement from the company. It boasts a pistol grip, AR-15 type magazine and free-floating handguard. He said in an interview the firearm is useful to farmers and ranchers for keeping vermin and coyotes off their land.

The gun’s features, however, make it a potential target for the Liberal government’s campaign promise to ban and buy back “military-style” assault weapons. While that term has no legal definition in Canada, the Public Safety Department cites a U.S. definition of the weapons as “semiautomatic firearms with a large magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire.”

Firearms in Canada fall into three classes: non-restricted, restricted and prohibited, each with regulations governing their ownership. Most long guns, including the WS-MCR, fall into the non-restricted category, meaning there are no caveats or bans on their ownership.

During the fall election campaign, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair estimated that 250,000 to-be-banned guns are legally owned in Canada, each with an approximate value of $1,500, though those numbers are subject to change as new firearms continue to come to market.

Blair has yet to offer firm details on when the ban would take place, what guns the government plans to restrict, or how the buy back program would be carried out.

So far, the looming and murky ban has only served to confuse customers, Hipwell noted.

“Some of them, the glass is half empty, some it’s half full. Some of them are selling, some of them are buying, but most of them haven’t a clue what to do,” he said.

Blair’s office declined a request for an interview Monday, but the office’s spokeswoman, Mary-Liz Power, said in a statement that the government will announce the details of its plan for firearms “in the near future…as each step is ready to be implemented.”

Generally, the Canadian public supports tighter regulations on gun ownership in the country. A survey from Angus Reid found three-quarters of Canadians support a ban on assault weapons, while nearly two-thirds support a ban on handguns.

Still, Hipwell thinks the ban is chasing after the “easy target” of law-abiding gun owners in Canada, and maintains the legislation won’t make a dent on gun crime on the streets.

“If you ask me: do you support tougher gun control, I certainly support more effective gun control,” said Hipwell.

“I’m a married man, I’ve got four children, I’ve got 13 grandchildren; their safety is more important to me than making a few bucks on a gun.”

In his view, more effective gun control will come through stronger measures to prevent guns from crossing the border, and tweaks to the judicial system that would see maximum sentences handed out for firearm-related crimes.

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca

@jsrutgers