Report on Supply Chain Compliance 3, no. 10 (May 14, 2020)
On May 1, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban on assault-style weapons.[1] The ban affects some 1,500 different types of firearms, including weapons such as the AR-15. The ban was made law by an order through the Governor in Council, thus circumventing Parliament; the Canadian government also took advantage of the pandemic to implement the law quickly and without notification to trading partners or to the World Trade Organization (WTO), as required by certain notification obligations.
In a text version of the law,[2] the government explains that not notifying trading partners, the WTO, and the general public is part of the government’s stance on the issue, which is that “the prohibition of these firearms is a matter of public safety and security therefore Canada has not given the advance notification as required by the WTO. In addition, Canada has not given advance notice in an effort to avoiding creating a potential run on the market before it is frozen by the prohibition.”
Canadians are forbidden from importing any weapons listed in the Annex of the law. It is not clear how U.S. firms, which comprise most gun sales in North America, will be affected by the ban.