A restricted gun licence holder holds a AR-15 at his home in Langley, B.C. Friday, May 1, 2020.

It would also allow municipalities the ability to ban handguns through bylaws restricting their possession, storage and transportation.

Few details were provided about the legislation, known as Bill C-21, that also includes a buy-back program for prohibited "assault-style" firearms and beefed up penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking.

"We will move forward with the buy-back program in the coming months and complete the prohibition to ensure these weapons can not be legally used, transferred, transported, bequeathed, or sold", Justin Trudeau said. We will continue to take steps to strengthen gun control measures, remove unsafe weapons from our streets, and make sure everyone can feel safe from violence.

"It's a privilege that's predicated on the strict adherence to our laws, our regulations, and our restrictions", Public Safety Minister Bill Blair noted.

Amongst the new measures proposed by the Trudeau government is a "buyback program" in the coming months "to support the safe removal of these firearms from our communities".

"This is a total betrayal".

Trudeau and Blair admitted the government, through the RCMP regime that tracks firearms, does not know even how numerous weapons there are in the country. It will complement previous investments, including funding announced in November 2017 to support provincial and territorial initiatives and combat firearms smuggling and trafficking.

"What we found is that authorities did not have adequate and fulsome information about who has these weapons, what weapons are possessed out there and where they are located, it limits the effectiveness of a buyback program". "They lied to Canadians".

"Without a mandatory buyback program, tens of thousands of fully functional assault weapons will remain in circulation for decades to come", said Nathalie Provost, who survived four gunshot wounds during the masassacre at the École Polytechnique.

Last summer, Saskatchewan passed legislation barring municipalities from making their own gun laws, and in December, Alberta moved to follow suit. "The point is they can". "And it only takes one to cause a massacre.", said Nathalie Provost, who survived four gunshot wounds during the massacre at the École Polytechnique.

Law enforcement officials say random gun violence in Canadian cities continues to worsen, with deaths increasingly linked to gang violence.

"The way we read this, I suppose, is it's really up to municipalities to enact bylaws", he said. "And from this, we've charted a plan of action". He said they would help combat intimate-partner and gender-based violence by allowing people to apply to the courts to order the removal of a person's firearm or to suspend their gun license.

The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) said it was "disappointed" by the bill, arguing the proposed legislation doesn't go far enough with respect to the "red fag laws".

"These risky situations can include such incidents as domestic and intimate partner violence, where a person may be suicidal or emotionally disturbed. Protecting you, your family and your community". "We rely on the rule of law, not the end of a gun, for our safety", Blair added.

"We have asked that any such law be nimble and responsive to allow immediate temporary relocation of firearms until the patient's mental health or social crisis has been assessed, treated and resolved". Under Bill C-21, they will get their wish.