Tsilhqot'in National Government questions Bill C-21 amendment and its impact on the right to hunt

The Tsilhqot'in National Government (TNG) is raising concerns about the Liberal government'srecent amendments to Bill C-21, which adds hunting rifles to the list of banned guns in Canada.

The TNG, which represent the Tilhqot'in Nation and Tilhqot'in communities in B.C.'s Interior, says that banning hunting tools limits their ability and right to hunt on their lands, which is protected by law.

Last week,Liberal MP Paul Chiangintroduced several amendments to the bill after it had passed second reading, including addinglong guns to the banned list.

The amendment also prohibits a large number of semi-automatic firearms that do not have detachable magazines and don't meet the definition of an "assault-style firearm"or infringe the other two rules, including a number of long guns widely used by Canadian hunters.

On Monday,Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised that gun control legislation is being reviewed to ensure it does not target legitimate gun use.

In a news release,Tsilhqot'in Nits'ilin(Chief) Joe Alphonse questioned the lack of consultation with Indigenous groups before making theamendments.

"We need answers," he said.

"We are hunters. Indigenous people rely on food from the land for food security, and a hunting rifle is a tool to accomplish that. Canada needs to address these concerns before moving forward with Bill C-21, or it will be challenged."

Vancouver-Granville MPTaleeb Noormohamed told the Commons committeethat hunters aren't the intended target, rather, the government wasfocusing on "weapons that should be banned because they have been responsible for taking life killing human beings."

The TNG and Alphonse both acknowledged the need to address gun violence in Canada but said government needs to take Indigenous people into account.

"We applaud countries like New Zealand and Australia that have dramatically reduced gun violence through gun bans but any law must take into account the environment it existsin," Alphonse said.