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The federal government has again delayed plans to introduce a controversial marking scheme for firearms manufactured and imported into Canada despite promising during the 2015 election campaign to “immediately” enact the rules.

The Firearms Marking Regulations were set to come into force on Dec. 1, following an 18-month delay for “substantial rewriting,” but the federal government said Friday they have been deferred for another two years.

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The regulations, aimed at achieving compliance with a United Nations Firearms treaty, were drafted 13 years ago and have now been delayed nine times by four successive federal governments.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix last spring that the regulations had been sitting on a shelf for more than a decade and needed to be rewritten to make them relevant.

That work appears to be continuing.

In a news release issued Friday, Public Safety Canada said it is still developing “an effective markings regime that enables law enforcement to effectively trace crime guns, without imposing undue constraints or costs on firearms owners and businesses.”