Canada is banning a range of assault-style guns effective immediately.
“Effective immediately, it is no longer permitted to buy, sell, transport, import or use military-grade assault weapons in this country,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
A two-year amnesty period will take place for current owners who will be compensated through a program that will require a bill to be passed in Parliament.
Trudeau mentioned several mass shootings in Canada including the killings in Nova Scotia last week and the 1989 shootings at Ecole Polytechnique as reasons to implement the ban.
LaSalle Senior Police Constable Terry Seguin says the ban will help to limit the availability of these firearms for criminals.
"Criminals don't abide by the laws however we have to take into account that legally obtained firearms, by lawful persons, can sometimes fall into the wrong hands by thefts or break-ins," says Seguin. "Perhaps by limiting the availability or prohibiting the possession certain types of firearms, legally obtained firearms, will have less of a chance of getting into the hands of someone with nefarious intentions."
He says through amnesty programs in the past, police were able to obtain firearms and destroy them, preventing them from getting into the wrong hands.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says the number of guns, that are not used in sport shooting, has been increasing in Canada.
Trudeau noted the government was getting ready to bring in stricter gun control legislation in March, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Although mass shootings are rare in Canada, Trudeau says they are happening more often.
--With files from CTV News