An amendment to gun legislation proposed by Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MP Alex Ruff has received unanimous support from the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.
The change aims to clarify that firearm owners can temporarily transfer their firearms to someone else for storage while they seek help for mental health issues, without the fear of losing their firearms.
"We have a demographic that is three times less likely to commit a crime in restricted firearms owners being penalized by this Liberal government," Ruff said when speaking at the third reading of Bill C-21.
It specifically addresses the Authorization to Transport (ATT) a firearm to an individual or business with the appropriate license for the purpose of storage during the individual's treatment of a mental illness or similar problem.
Ruff emphasizes that this provision is crucial to encourage firearm owners to seek the necessary help without hesitation.
The amendment provides clarity to both firearms owners and chief firearms officers across the country, ensuring that there is no misinterpretation of the intent behind the legislation.
To retrieve the firearms, the owner would need to reapply for Authorization to Transfer, subject to assessment by the Chief Firearms Officer.
The amendment is part of Bill C-21, which has faced harsh criticism from the Conservative Party, with Ruff saying "just the fact that I introduced a necessary amendment to make the bill less worse does not make it a useful bill, it's still a useless bill."
The bill is currently at the third reading in the House of Commons and, if passed, will proceed to the Senate for further debate.