00:00:00.000With respect to arms control and firearm decisions around specifics,
00:00:07.220we are in the process of moving towards an expert-led system, specifically by the RCMP.
00:00:14.800Pauli Se Souviens, the gun rights group founded by survivors of the École Polytechnique massacre,
00:00:20.420is calling on Ottawa to immediately halt sales of the SKS and to ultimately make it a prohibited weapon.
00:00:26.720So here we go again. The Canadian federal government is gearing up for another gun ban, and this time they're targeting the SKS. They're not doing it with a big announcement on the five o'clock news or a straight up public ban. They're doing it quietly through a so-called expert panel with a full rewrite of the firearms classification system and constant pressure from a Quebec anti-gun group that has been demanding the SKS be prohibited for years now.
00:00:55.300The SKS isn't some high-tech tactical rifle. It's an old, simple, mid-century semi-auto with a fixed five-round magazine.
00:01:04.280It's been in Canada for decades, it's cheap, it's reliable, and that's exactly why regular hunters, rural families, and northern communities use it.
00:01:13.120A prominent gun control group is calling on Ottawa to immediately halt sales of the type of gun that was used in the recent deadly shooting in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.
00:01:23.660a police officer a civilian and the suspect all died in the shooting and radio canada has confirmed
00:01:29.820with police sources the gun used by the suspect was a russian-made semi-automatic sks rifle that
00:01:37.260firearm is currently unrestricted and legally available for purchase in canada experts estimate
00:01:43.420there are hundreds of thousands in circulation across the country basically if you're a gun
00:01:48.300owner in canada and you own rifles you probably got an sks the sks is most commonly used by
00:01:54.220indigenous canadians for hunting and the reason for that it is a rarely a fairly inexpensive
00:02:00.140firearm even the federal government's own panel must admit that indigenous hunters rely on it
00:02:06.380because it's affordable rugged it works in the cold and the ammo is easy to find that right there
00:02:13.180is why the sks has survived earlier bans if the government tried to prohibit it years ago they
00:02:19.420would have been in a direct fight with indigenous communities who depend on that rifle in particular
00:02:25.020for sustenance hunting the government knew it that's why in 2020 when they banned over
00:02:30.5401500 so-called assault style weapons the sks wasn't on that list later when they tried to
00:02:37.340slipped the SKS into Bill C-21 through a last minute amendment, indigenous leaders pushed back
00:02:43.360hard and the government had to back off. And that right there is the big red flag. If a gun is really
00:02:50.080too dangerous, then it should be too dangerous for everyone. But the government tiptoes around
00:02:56.060the SKS only because of the politics. That tells you this isn't about public safety. It's about
00:03:02.280optics. Gun control experts say the qualities that make the SKS so popular among hunters
00:03:07.540also make it popular among murderers. It's the weapon that's most used in Canada in mass shootings
00:03:15.840and in shootings and murders of police officers in recent years.
00:03:21.700Paulie se souvient, the gun rights group founded by survivors of the École Polytechnique massacre,
00:03:26.780is calling on Ottawa to immediately halt sales of the SKS
00:03:30.720and to ultimately make it a prohibited weapon.
00:03:34.000Gun owners groups say doing that won't prevent incidents like the one in Cote d'Inege.
00:03:38.780You would have to believe that if he couldn't buy that firearm,
00:03:42.600but could only buy every other firearm, that this wouldn't have happened.
00:03:53.140Meanwhile, Canada's own crime data tells a completely different story.
00:03:58.920Handguns, mostly illegal ones smuggled across the border, are the ones showing up in the majority of shootings and homicides in this country.
00:04:07.880Rifles like the SKS make up a tiny fraction of gun crime here.
00:04:12.080But instead of dealing with that, instead of going after the illegal market, Ottawa is spending its energy trying to ban a rifle sitting peacefully in the safe of a licensed gun owner who passed all the background checks.
00:04:24.740And that is exactly what the Quebec Anti-Gun Group has been demanding for years.
00:04:29.820They've been pushing the government to ban the SKS.
00:04:36.160They say the government's ban is incomplete until the SKS is off the market.
00:04:40.780They want new sales band. They want a buyback program. They want registration. Basically, they want the SKS gone for good. In December 2025, an expert advisory panel released a report that suddenly treats the SKS like some kind of modern combat gun.
00:04:58.400They talk about newer versions, detachable mags and tactical conversions, even though most Canadians who own an SKS have the same old wooden stocked rifle that has been around since the mid-1900s.
00:05:13.380They paint it as dangerous, even though Canada's own crime stats say otherwise.
00:05:17.380The next day, the public safety minister announced a full classification review, and he didn't just say they're looking at everything.
00:05:29.280He said they will be consulting indigenous communities about its future.
00:05:34.540Translation, they want to ban it, but they're trying to figure out how to do it without an uproar in the north with northern communities.0.83
00:05:43.500The Quebec Anti-Gun Group is celebrating this.
00:05:46.140They're pushing harder than ever, saying Canada doesn't have a real ban until they get rid of the SKS.
00:05:52.880They're asking for a full ban on any new SKS sales and a buyback for the ones that are already out there.
00:06:00.640Hundreds of firearms are now banned in Canada, but not this one.
00:06:05.440Basically, if you're a gun owner in Canada and you own rifles, you've probably got an SKS.
00:06:52.320They keep adding more guns to the prohibited list.
00:06:55.160And now they're going after the last affordable semi-auto that regular Canadians can still buy.
00:07:01.380The SKS isn't being targeted because it's a threat.
00:07:03.760it's being targeted because it's accessible, because it's popular, because it's one of the
00:07:08.860few non-restricted semi-autos left in Canada. And once the SKS goes, that's basically it.
00:07:15.500There aren't many options left for average people. You'll have expensive, restricted,
00:07:20.760government-approved rifles that are hard to get and hard to use. And you'll have illegal guns
00:07:26.160in the hands of criminals who never cared about the law to begin with.
00:07:30.380A comprehensive ban is possible and just within reach. We are so happy and I'm feeling relieved that it might be done before the next election.
00:07:46.420This isn't about safety. It's about control and about slowly, quietly choking out civilian firearms ownership until nothing is left in Canada.