Canada election: Conservatives under fire over gun control – By Al Jazeera and Reuters (Al Jazeera) / Sept 4 2021
Conservative leader faces mounting questions over promise to overturn a 2020 ban on some assault-style weapons such as AR-15.
Canada’s Conservative Party, which holds a slim lead in a tight electoral race, is facing mounting criticism for its stance on gun control after the Conservatives pledged to overturn a 2020 ban on some “assault-style” weapons.
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has been pressed repeatedly this week over his campaign promise to overturn last year’s prohibition on weapons such as the AR-15, which was used by a gunman to kill 26 adults and children in the Sandy Hook massacre in the United States in 2012.
O’Toole declined to answer the questions directly, noting he plans to keep a separate 1977 ban on assault rifles.
“Erin O’Toole is willing to say anything to Canadians to get elected. He lied to Canadians about his plans to scrap the Liberal ban on assault weapons,” the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said in a statement on Saturday.
