Educational Media Reviews Online

This film is exactly what the title says, how the gun lobby in Canada is changing it from a tightly gun restricted country towards looser, more realistic but inherently dangerous gun-friendlier one. Part of what precipitated it was the ending of the long-gun registration in 2012, which after 10 years and a cost of 1.2 billion dollars (a figure not mentioned in the film) did not reduce crime. Now Canada is shown as migrating towards more deregulation. The gun lobby, our equivalent but much smaller version (20, 000 members) of the NRA, the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, does finally get the next loosening of the gun laws. Law C-42 “A Common Sense Firearms Law” allows transportation of firearms anywhere they are allowed.

The film does an excellent job showing the progression of the changing gun laws in Canada by interviews with a gun shop owner, former Toronto police chief, the CSSA lobbyists, and even jailed gun smugglers. It attempts also to bring a direct correlation with the greater availability of guns, legally or otherwise, with the increase of gun violence in low income areas. Statistically 50% of gun deaths in Canada are related to drug crimes. 90% percent of crimes in Toronto are in low income neighborhoods. A Canadian policeman summed up his thoughts on these statistics and I think a rebuttal of the films premise, which is “these young people need to make better choices.” According to Statistics Canada gun crimes had been on a slow decline for years.

What is refreshing about this film is the honest treatment both sides have in the argument. No one is shown to be a villain, especially the pro-gun crowd. A three-gun shooting event involving a handgun, rifle and shotgun was depicted as family fun. Here in the United States it has been called the “fastest growing sport” and considering that firearms are used in several Olympic sports, appropriately covered here. Conversely we follow one of the residents of a low-income area whose best friend was killed by gun violence. We get to see her frustration at any attempts to cut off the supply of guns, mainly handguns, because “you can get anything you want in the hood.” One of the biggest problems is shown to be stolen guns, as the store owners featured in the film have their place robbed, which we view on their security tape. The “time to crime” for these guns, according to the police, is just a few days. While it does not try to provide solutions this is a thought provoking and balanced portrayal of the state of gun control currently in Canada.