Canada is banning 324 types of firearms, as stated by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, because they should be on the battlefield, not in the hands of hunters or sport shooters. Additionally, it has been reported that this same weaponry could be sent to Ukraine to combat Russian occupiers.
Defense Minister Bill Blair emphasized that Canada has already reached out to Ukrainian authorities, who have expressed interest in certain types of weapons, according to The Associated Press.
"Any assistance we can provide to the Ukrainians is a step towards their victory," the minister noted.
Reports indicate that the Federal Government is working on a plan to buy back the banned weapons from private owners.
Furthermore, while mass shootings in Canada occur relatively infrequently, the recently announced measures were taken ahead of the 35th anniversary of the shooting at Montreal's École Polytechnique, where the shooter killed 14 women before taking his own life. The Ruger Mini-14 rifle, used by Marc Lépine, was included in the list of banned weapons even before 2020.
Transfer of Weapons to Ukraine
Earlier, UNIAN reported that Ukraine will receive priority in missile supplies for air defense — this will happen at an accelerated pace, stated Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder.
Additionally, Denmark previously announced the transfer of all its artillery to Ukraine.
"This is a very interesting statement. Because the only artillery system that Denmark can transfer to us is the CAESAR self-propelled howitzer. And they have already delivered it to us. All other artillery systems they possess are of Israeli manufacture," noted Alexander Kovalenko.