Telling the Canadian public that they “deserve more than thoughts and prayers” less than two weeks after a series of shootings in Canada that killed 13 people, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a ban on “assault-style” semi-automatic weapons in the country.
Effective immediately, Trudeau said, the sale, transport, and use of about 1,500 makes and models of such guns will now be illegal in Canada.
The prime minister added that the government would work in the coming months on legislation to compensate people who already own the weapons. Owners have until April 2022 to dispose of the guns.