r/canadaguns • u/Low_Bar_804 • Apr 19 '26

News / Politics / Activism Owning guns- Right or Privilege?

So obviously here in Canada our government sees private firearm ownership as a privilege rather than a right. My question is, how you guys feel? Do you think gun ownership is a right or a privilege?

When you look at other things people view as rights, such as abortion, freedom of expression and freedom of religion etc. These are all viewed by most as inherently “good rights”, but in many countries these rights are restricted. I think, along with many others, that it is justified to ignore unjust laws that restrict human rights.

I personally believe that firearm ownership is a fundamental human right because it protects all of our other rights and freedoms from being taken away. So even though legally speaking firearm ownership is a privilege that can be taken away at any time here in Canada, I don’t agree with the way our country and many others treat firearm ownership.

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u/EnvironmentBright697 Apr 19 '26

Truth is, we don’t have any “rights” whatsoever in Canada. The “reasonable limits” clause in the charter basically invalidates the entire thing and lets the government decide what is “reasonable” or not.

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u/kfkjhgfd Apr 19 '26

However, the government must go through the Oakes Test to prove if the charter infringement can be “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”. This means it must be connected to the law and government objectives; minimally impair charter rights; and be proportional between the positive and negative aspects of the infringement.

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u/outline8668 Apr 20 '26

As we've seen in recent years this determination is made after the fact and the penalty to government for overstepping is zero.