Canada to sue US gun makers?
Justice ministers across the country will ponder next month an Ottawa proposal to sue U.S. gun manufacturers as part of a strategy to curb the movement of illegal firearms across the border.
Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler made the suggestion earlier this week, saying more than half the guns used in homicides in Canada originate in the United States.
Stupid Canadians, don’t they know those evil gun makers are immune. More:
But Sanjeev Anand, a professor of constitutional and criminal law at the University of Alberta, said he’s not sure Cotler’s idea would be effective.
“If someone buys a gun in the States and smuggles it into Canada, how can you blame the manufacturer for making it available — which is something you can already do under American law?”
A more effective approach, said Anand, would be for Ottawa to take direct action and tighten up security at ports and border crossings.
You know, some smart cracker said the same thing yesterday.
October 27th, 2005 at 4:51 pm
Blame Canada! Blame Canada! Seems like everything’s gone wrong, since Canada came along…
October 27th, 2005 at 5:12 pm
“Stupid Canadians, don’t they know those evil gun makers are immune”
Not if they have assets in Canada. Then they can be sued in Canadian court.
October 28th, 2005 at 2:09 am
Oh dear, nice thinking on the part of our politicians. Makes me proud to be a cannuck, however on the bright side I’m sure this is another flash-in-the-pan idea that’ll disappear when the next “flavour of the week” issue rears its ugly head.
-sigh-
October 28th, 2005 at 5:19 pm
Gun manufacturers should countersue Canada for allowing their products to be illegally smuggled across the border.
October 28th, 2005 at 8:08 pm
[…] Yesterday Say Uncle posted on the Canadian threat of a lawsuit against American gun makers. This quote was included in his post. Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler made the suggestion earlier this week, saying more than half the guns used in homicides in Canada originate in the United States. […]
October 29th, 2005 at 10:56 am
Or they could countersue on the theory that Canada’s strict gun laws impede foreign or interstate commerce without Congress’s authorization. Of course, Canada itself would never honor a judgment like that, so as a practical matter the gun manufacturers could never collect unless Canada was found in the United States.
October 30th, 2005 at 10:24 pm
Speaking of foreign trade, I thought it might be possible to knock down the ATF’s import ban because it violates WTO rules. Supposedly, they are just banning foreign guns because they are cheap, which may mean the ban is an illegal barrier to trade.