Montreal shooting sparks renewed calls to ban SKS rifles
Posted on: Jun 25, 2026 20:00 IST | Posted by: Cbc
A prominent gun verify protagonism aggroup is repeating its call in for an straightaway end to new sales of SKS rifles following the deadly shooting in Montreal.
Police have not identified the type of firearm used by the suspect in the shooting that left two people dead, including Montreal police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane and civilian bystander Michel Mizrahi this week.
But images circulating online indicate a long gun lying on the ground at the shooting scene appears to be an SKS — a semi-automatic rifle of Russian origin that date back to the 1950s.
In a media statement Thursday, the group PolySeSouvient urged the federal Liberals to halt new sales of SKS models, saying it would close an obvious gap and send a clear signal.
Since May 2020, Ottawa has outlawed about 2,500 types of firearms on the basis they belong only on the battlefield.
It has not banned the SKS rifle, which is commonly used in Indigenous communities to hunt for food.
Liberals slammed for 'inaction' by gun control group ahead of Montreal massacre anniversary
It also has been used in police killings and other high-profile shootings in recent years.
Ottawa says it is carrying out a broad review of Canada's firearms classification regime that will include consultations with Indigenous communities on the SKS.
PolySeSouvient is calling for a "precise and accelerated schedule" for consultations and regulatory action on existing SKS rifles.
"The current pace is indefensible, and there is no official timeline," the group's statement says. "These weapons remain widely available, repeatedly linked to violence, and treated with a leniency they do not merit."
Ottawa has initiated a compensation program for owners of banned firearms who turn in or deactivate their guns.
As things stand, owners who declared their prohibited firearms under the buyback program "can take public money and buy a new SKS rifle," PolySeSouvient says.
"That is not public safety. It is a taxpayer-funded farce that leaves the same deadly threat on the market under a different name."
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