Montreal council adopts motion for nationwide handgun ban

Montreal city council has joined the growing group of politicians calling for a nationwide ban on handguns and assault weapons.

In a unanimous vote on Monday, Montreal city council adopted a motion demanding that no Canadians be allowed to possess a handgun or assault rifle.

The ban excludes those who work in the military or law enforcement and doesn’t target shotguns or hunting rifles.

Toronto city council passed a similar motion in July, following a public shooting in the city’s Greektown district that left two dead and 13 injured.

Montreal Councillor Alex Norris argued for a nationwide ban, saying a local ban would be a "half measure" and make it too simple for firearms acquired in other parts of the country to be imported into big cities.

According to the adopted motion, violent gun crime in Canada has risen 33% from 2013 to 2016, and of those incidents, 60% involved a handgun.

The motion also lists Quebec's mass shootings including the Quebec City mosque shooting in 2017 and the Concordia University shooting in 1992.

Montreal’s police union released a statement applauding the motion, however, just last week The president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police said his organization wasn’t seeking any wholesale legislative changes in response to recent gun violence.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said his government is “listening attentively” to the council motions from the nation’s two largest cities.

With files from the Canadian Press.