Nova Scotia, Canada: One year after mass shootings, ban on assault weapons has been in place for months

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But as the sounds of Millbrook First Nation’s Mi’kmaq Song of Honor filled the church on Sunday, the family and friends of the 22 victims of Canada’s worst crime around the world are aware of the pain that some things will never be the same again. fel.

“A year ago, 22 Canadians were senselessly killed and three others were injured when a gunman made a fuss in the small towns of Nova Scotia,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement ahead of the church ceremony. to commemorate the tragedy.

“Even a year later, I know there is no comfort for the anguish of having an adored parent or a precious broken child. I know there are no words for the loss of a beloved police officer and teacher. For mourning respected nurses and correctional officers.” , he said in a separate recorded message.

“So all I can say is this: You are not alone. All Canadians are with you and are sad with you today and forever.”

A horrible disaster

In 12 hours, starting on April 18 and continuing until April 19, Gabriel Wortman went on a murder in rural Nova Scotia, killing 22 people – some of whom he knew, others foreigners.

9 of Nova Scotia's 22 victims of rage have died in gunfire, investigators say
Canadian royal police said 13 were shot dead and nine others died in gunfire.
Wortman, 51, was shot by police after an hour-long chase during which, police say, he posed as one of them, including wearing the RCMP uniform and driving what looked like a police cruiser. .

Police say the gunman did not have a firearms license and his weapons were obtained illegally, probably from the United States.

Rapid legislative action

Less than two weeks after the massacre, the Trudeau government banned more than 1,500 models and variants of assault-style weapons, making their use, sale or import illegal.
Banning Trudeau's assault weapons is not enough

“These weapons were designed for one purpose, and one purpose, to kill as many people as possible in the shortest time,” Trudeau said at the time.

In 2019, Trudeau’s Liberal Party promised tighter gun control, but the tragedy in Nova Scotia has tightened its grip.

Trudeau’s government introduced several arms control laws earlier this year, promising to strengthen the regulation of weapons and their owners.
Canada will not enforce a national gun ban, but will leave it to individual communities

For decades, polls have shown that most Canadians support stricter gun control, but the Trudeau government’s effort to pass more legislation has been met with some skepticism from both lawyers and detractors.

Canadian opposition leader Erin O’Toole, leader of the Conservative Party, says Trudeau’s new and proposed arms bans and buyout schemes will punish law-abiding gun owners while doing little to solve the growing problem. of gun violence in Canadian cities.

And some gun control lawyers and mayors in big cities say they are disappointed that Trudeau’s government has not proposed a national gun ban.

The federal-provincial investigation will analyze the tragedy

How and why this massacre took place in one of the safest and most unlikely places in Canada will now be investigated in Nova Scotia, but a final report is not expected for more than a year.

Canadian police fail to issue timely public alert for Nova Scotia gun

The RCMP acknowledges that there are many questions about how the gunman got so many firearms and his motivation, as well as what the RCMP knew about his ability to replace an officer with uniforms and police cars.

“We understand that people have questions and we want to know as much as possible about the incidents. The allegations in the investigation are currently before the courts and we are fully involved in the ongoing Mass Accident Commission. We hope the Accident Commission will provide a full account of what happened to the families of the victims and the public, “Lee Bergerman, commander of the Nova Scotia RCMP, said in a statement released this weekend.

His pregnant wife was killed in a mass shooting. Her dying wish was for health workers to have PPE

As friends and family laid flowers in front of the altar in the church on Sunday, a bouquet for each victim, they await a legal reform to ensure that no community will have to endure this type of armed violence.

“We have all suffered so much this year,” said Jenny Kierstead, the victim’s sister Lisa McCully, adding that the actions of an armed man have “shattered” many lives.

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