Young People Press Government of Canada to Ban Assault Weapons Statement from the student community The violence caused by military -style semi-automatic firearms and their accessories ( such as high-capacity magazines) affects young people directly. This threat will not go away with active shooter drills [IN FRENCH] in our schools or harsher penalties. The primary measure to prevent mass killings is to ban weapons that can kill multiple people in seconds with a simple pull of a finger.

It is inconceivable that 33 years after the December 6, 1989 massacre, which claimed the lives of of our sisters, the three political parties – the Liberal Party, the NDP and the Bloc Québecois – that promised Canadians that they would prohibit these deadly weapons have not yet found a solution to reach agreement on a ban. Bill C-21, which was passed by the House of Commons and is now before the Senate, does not include the primary goal of a campaign that was launched a full decade before we were born.

First, it is important to understand that the proposed definition of a prohibited firearm in Bill C-21 (which should cover all military-style firearms) applies only to models that have not yet been invented and can be easily circumvented by manufacturers. New models continue to come on the market, and the hundreds of models currently in circulation are not only legal, but they also do not have any restrictions. This means that they are subject to the same rules as mainstream hunting rifles and are therefore accessible to a large

section of the population. This inability to make laws to ban firearms commonly used in mass killings is of great concern to student associations in Quebec and Canada. Last December, we applauded the bill in which the government was planning an amendment to ban all assault weapons. Opponents waged a disinformation campaign, and the government backed down. We are now denouncing the absence of a ban in the bill. Don’t get us wrong.

We support C -21 on the basis of the other measures in the bill, including the freeze on the sale of han dguns and the automatic revocation of the firearms of individuals involved in acts of domestic violence. However, the war for a ban on assault weapons is unfortunately not over, and we must continue our fight. This is why we continue to reiterate the same arguments to prevent student massacres. School shootings don’t just happen in the United States. We are not immune to this type of violence in Canada – we need only to think of Polytechnique, Concordia and Dawson.

The killers in all th ese cases legally owned the weapons they used. We must therefore do all we can to minimize the chances of these types of weapons falling into the wrong hands. We don’t know who the next mass killer will be. It could be any one. You can’t read people’s minds. You can’t predict how someone’s mental status will be in the future. And that is why we need to eliminate access to all assault weapons for all Canadians. This is particularly relevant because this is what the majority of Canadians want. As engineering students, we see the scope of the damage these types of weapons cause.

We have science on our side. Fatality from injury increases with the calibre. The number of casualties multiplies with semiautomatic features. High-capacity magazines can fire several rounds . Sniper rifles can hit targets at distances of over two kilometres. And these weapons can be equipped with all types of military features, including collapsible sticks, bayonet mount s, pistol grip s for greater stability during successive firing , flash suppressors, bipods, grenade launchers, night lenses, etc. There is no need for anyone to have these weapons or accessories. The potential cost is too high.

Students have already paid with their lives. One mass killing is one too many. As such, while the Senate is moving forward toward final passage of Bill C-21, the Trudeau government should implement its commitment to ban assault weapons once and for all by supplementing the Order in Council to cover all models, in addition to banning high-capacity magazines, as quickly as possible. ABOUT The PAS ICI/NOT HERE movement comprises student associations that bring together over 250,000 students across Canada.

The organization’s main goal is to prevent mass killings in schools, includin g by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

CONTACTS Flora Dommanget, External Affairs Coordinator, Association étudiante de Polytechnique (AEP), externe@aep.polymtl.ca Loïc Goyette, President, Association étudiante de Polytechnique (AEP), presidence@aep.polymtl.ca Yeva Côté-Paradis, Vice-President, Public Affairs, Quebec Confederation for Engineering Students (QCESO), ycote-paradis@creiq.qc.ca Rose-Line Tougas, Pr esident, Quebec Confederation for Eng ineering Students (QCESO), presidence@creiq.qc.ca This letter has the support of: The Association étudiante de Polytechnique _ Loïc Goyette, President, AEP The Quebec Confederation for Engineering Students _ Rose-Line Tougas, President, QCESO The Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec _ Laurence Mallette-Léonard, President, FECQ The Quebec Student Union _ Catherine Bibeau-Lorrain, President, QSU The Association étudiante des cycles supérieurs de Polytechnique _ Camille Pillot, President, AECSP The Association étudiante des cycles supérieurs de HEC _ Claire Guttadauro, President, AECSHEC The Association étudiante de l’ETS _ Adil Husain, President, AÉETS The Association étudiante de l’ENAP _ Sébastien Keiff, President, AEENAP The Association étudiante de l’ESG _ Jules Poirier-Ostiguy, President, AéESG The Regroupement étudiant de maîtrise, diplôme et doctorat de l’Université de Sherbrooke _ Gabrielle Crevier, President, REMDUS The Engineering Undergraduate Society of McGill University _ Owen Quinn, President, EUS The Trent Central Student Association _ Aimee Anctil, President, TCSA The Association générale étudiante du campus de Rimouski de l’UQAR _ Olivier Hérard, President, AGECAR The Association générale étudiante de l’Université de Québec à Trois-Rivières _ Jérémy Mignot, Coordinator, Finance and Development Services, AGEUQTR The Confédération des Associations d’étudiants et étudiantes de l’Université Laval _ James Boudreau, President, CADEUL The Association générale des étudiants de l’UQO _ Éric Bergeron, General Adviser, AGE-UQO The Fédération des associations étudiantes du campus de l’Université de Montréal _ Alecsandre Sauvé- Lacoursière, Secretary General, FAÉCUM The Fédération étudiante de l'Université de Sherbrooke _ Jacob fontaine, External Affairs Coordinator, FEUS The UPEI Student Union _ Noah Mannholland, Vice-President, Academic and External Affairs, UPEI SU