By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Canada announced a ban Thursday on 324 models of assault-style weapons on the eve of the 35th anniversary of the massacre of 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique University in Montreal.
It is the latest move to fulfill a promise made by the government to bring in the toughest gun legislation in decades.
The ban was announced at a news conference as officials prepared to commemorate the Dec. 6, 1989 deadly shooting, when a man brandishing a rifle burst into a classroom at the university and shot 28 people, killing 14 women before committing suicide.
The banned assault-style weapons purchased from owners in a buyback program could be donated to Ukraine for use against Russian forces, the government said.
Defense Minister Bill Blair said at the news conference that the government approached Ukraine in October about whether the guns would be useful.
“They confirmed that indeed some of the weapons that are part of the program would be suitable,” Blair said.
The announcement, effective immediately, bans weapons that are “tactical/military design, with large magazine capacity.”
“Firearms designed for the battlefield plainly do not belong in our communities,” said Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, announcing the ban at the news conference.
“Too often, these types of weapons have been used to commit some of the worst atrocities Canada has ever witnessed,” he said.
The prohibited weapons add to a 2020 ban on 1,500 models of firearms that eventually grew to 2,000 last month, Global News reported.
According to figures from Public Safety Canada, the number of affected firearms totals around 14,500.