Guns turned over to police in Waterloo, Ont., during their November 2017 gun-amnesty program. (Waterloo Regional Police Service / Twitter photo)

Liberal gun legislation that has been hotly contested since it was tabled by the government 14 months ago will at last reach its final vote in Parliament Tuesday, after a last opposition blast at the bill during Senate debate Monday evening.

Agreeing to a motion from Conservative Senator Don Plett, the Senate deferred a vote on the bill’s third and final reading to Tuesday.

“This chamber will send it back to the other place un-amended,” Plett predicted as he outlined for the last time the determined opposition to the legislation among many gun owners and their lobby groups.

“This bill does nothing to address gun violence,” Plett said in the final hour of debate after a last Conservative attempt to amend the bill was voted down by the majority of Independent and Liberal senators in the chamber.

With the Conservatives reduced to a minority in the Senate, Tuesday’s vote means Royal Assent is the only step remaining for the legislation, as the October federal election inches closer.

The bill contains a series of new safeguards over firearm licensing, including a possible lifetime background check on licence applications and renewals and reinstatement of mandatory record-keeping by gun dealers and retailers.

The legislation almost entirely covers only the sale or transfer of non-restricted rifles and shotguns, but also includes elements to reinstate control over the transport of restricted and prohibited firearms that had been withdrawn under the previous Conservative government.

The bill would also reverse a decision by the previous government to amend the Criminal Code in a way that gives cabinet the authority to override RCMP classification of restricted and prohibited firearms and apply a lower-level of restriction.

Bill C-71 specifically singles out certain models of imported military rifles from the Czech Republic and others from Switzerland, for which the Conservative cabinet, under pressure from gun owners, had eased restrictions shortly before then prime minister Stephen Harper called the 2015 federal election.

The legislation also reinstates a regime for confirmation of licence validity, through the RCMP firearms registrar, while avoiding the reinstatement of a national registry of non-restricted rifles and shotguns.

Firearm owners and lobby groups argued throughout the year-long debate over Bill C-71 that the requirements for retail records, to be stored for at least 20 years, in effect create a form of long-gun registry.

A requirement for confirmation of licence validity through the RCMP Canadian Firearms Centre also drew accusations the Liberals had broken 2015 election promises that a Liberal government would not reinstate a national registry for rifles and shotguns.