The gun laws that have been announced are certainly an interesting move by the current standing federal government. My interests in the proposed changes to the law are independent from my interested in the way the changes to the laws have been pushed forward...
The proposed changes were announced by PM Trudeau, simultaneous to the release of the proposal in May 1 2020 Canadian Gazette (
The Document). Presumably this is all an Order in Council, but is something that never would have received assent via the traditional Statute approval process. That more rigorous process is to propose (changes to) an act(s), test those via debate and allow some back and forth to the proposal, then ultimately require the proposal to pass three readings in the House of Commons, then three readings in the Senate, then royal assent (via Governor General as Monarch's Representative).
Act (Statute) wrote:
Act (Statute), law passed by Parliament or a provincial legislature (see Provincial Government). A federal Act must pass 3 readings in the House of Commons and 3 readings in the Senate, and must receive royal assent. Assent is given by the Sovereign (rarely), or, in the sovereign's name, by the Governor General or (usually) his deputy (a judge of the Supreme Court Of Canada), in the Senate Chamber. A provincial Act must pass 3 readings in the legislature and receive the Lieutenant-Governor's assent. Royal assent has never been refused to a Dominion bill, but lieutenant-governors have refused assent 28 times, the last time in 1945. "
(
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/ ... ct-statute)
Once a Statute or Act has been approved, it is made 'public information' by publishing it in the Canadian Gazette. The announcement yesterday was accompanied by a publication in the Canadian Gazette, but no discussion in House of Commons. The implication is then that the changes have been made via an Order in Council, which essentially bypasses debate and scrutinizing...
Order in Council wrote:
Order-in-council, at the federal level, is an order of the GOVERNOR GENERAL by and with the advice and consent of the Queen's PRIVY COUNCIL for Canada. In fact, it is formulated by CABINET or a committee of Cabinet and formally approved by the governor general. Some orders simply make appointments. About a third are legislative, forming part of the law and enforceable by the courts. Most legislative orders are made under authority expressly conferred by ACT of Parliament. With the expansion of state activity in recent decades (public ownership, state regulation of industry, social security), it has become impossible for Parliament to legislate directly and in detail to meet complex and varying problems, and more and more Acts are cast in general terms and empower the governor-in-council to make regulations to carry out the intent of the legislation.
Such regulations on, for example, unemployment insurance, fisheries and aeronautics, now form an enormous part of our law (see REGULATORY PROCESS). They are called "subordinate legislation" because they are made by the governor-in-council, subordinate to Parliament, and are subordinate to, and limited by, the Act which authorizes them. A few legislative orders are based on royal prerogative (the relatively small remainder of the SOVEREIGN's ancient lawmaking power) but are limited by the content of the particular prerogative which confers the power to make them (see ADMINISTRATIVE LAW). Provincial orders-in-council - orders of the lieutenant-governor-in-councils - are similar to federal ones.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/ ... in-council
Democracy is a funny concept.
Also, anyone who previously owned and possessed any of the kinds of hardware mentioned in
The Document will be allowed to keep that hardware via a grandfathering of that hardware to them. So, what did this law change? It now bans the sale and trade of new hardware. A similar system has existed in Canada for 25 years, since the last OIC the pushed through to ban other things at the time.
