Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is facing calls to make good on its promises of tighter gun control rules in the wake of this weekend’s deadly mass shooting in Orlando, Florida.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair called on the Liberals to respect their promises to strengthen Canada’s gun laws and repeal Bill 42, which was introduced by the previous Conservative government.

“Recall that Bill 42 was an attempt to liberalize — without lifting certain restrictions for storage — the possession of certain firearms,” Mulcair told reporters. “I don’t understand why the Liberals have never acted on it.”

During the election campaign, Trudeau promised to repeal Bill 42, which allowed restricted and prohibited firearms to be transported without a separate permit. The Liberals also pledged to modify the composition of the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee, to require enhanced background checks, require those who buy firearms to show their licence and require those who sell firearms to keep records of their firearms inventory and sales.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said his department is working to deliver the promises the Liberals made during the election. However, he did not give any indication of when the government will introduce the promised changes.

Goodale’s comments come less than 48 hours after Omar Mateen walked into Orlando’s Pulse gay night club with a semi-automatic AR-15 and opened fire, killing 49 and injuring 53.

Goodale said the Liberal government has no plans to remove Canada’s restriction on the kind of weapon used in the Orlando shooting, despite a petition signed by more than 25,000 Canadians.

Goodale said he will rely on the recommendation of police forces when it comes to whether firearms like the AR-15 should be restricted.

“I have received no advice from the RCMP suggesting any change in the present circumstances,” Goodale said.

While AR-15’s have been used in mass shootings in the past, it is also popular with gun enthusiasts for hunting and target shooting.

In fact, it is so popular that an electronic petition initiated by Marc Bennett of Corner Brook, Newfoundland in January garnered 25,249 signatures from across Canada by the time it was tabled in Parliament by Conservative MP Bob Zimmer on May 13. It was the largest electronic petition presented to date in this Parliament.

The petition called on Goodale to remove the AR-15 from the category of restricted firearms in Canada, arguing that it was restricted “purely because of cosmetic appearance.”

“This rifle is the most versatile hunting rifle in the world,” the petitioners wrote. “The caliber can be easily changed to meet lawful provincial hunting requirements from small game to big game animals without the need to purchase multiple gaming rifles and the Armalite Rifle – 15 was in fact legal to hunt with before the mid-1990’s firearm classification changes and we hunters would like that opportunity restored.”

Zimmer, who presented the petition to Parliament, has not yet returned phone calls from iPolitics.

Mulcair rejected the suggestion that the AR-15 should be taken off the list of restricted firearms.

“When that kind of a firearm can produce such a massacre you don’t have to be convinced that access to that firearm shouldn’t be liberalized.”

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