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“The non-restricted category historically consisted of hunting rifles and shotguns, yet in recent years manufacturers have produced assault-style weapons that fall into this category,” the association wrote in a statement issued Friday.

“These are the types of weapons that the Liberal government promised to get off our streets, yet they are doing the opposite by not only approving new models under the restricted category, but also the non-restricted category,” said Heidi Rathjen, co-ordinator for Poly Remembers.

“You can tell by the statements of manufacturers and suppliers that these weapons are deliberately designed to circumvent the more restrictive provision in the law in order to have them treated as ordinary hunting rifles.”

The federal government is failing to update its lists of new models of guns that should be updated, largely due to pressure from gun lobbies, she said. The sales and production of guns used in mass shooting spiked in the United States in 2016 on fears the Democrats would win and ban or limit access to semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15, the Washington Post has reported.

Gun control groups were heartened by statements issued by the Canadian border security minister this week, that “have never been so bold and so clear with respect to describing what these weapons are and what they can do,” Rathjen said.

“Assault-style rifles are military weapons designed to hunt people, and not animals, in the most efficient manner possible that maximizes the body count at minimum effort,” the statement read.

“There is no option (regarding gun control) that will be discounted and all possibilities will be considered.”

However, while the C-71 Liberal gun control bill the government has been working on for a year cleared Senate this week does increase background checks on gun owners, it does not crack down on handguns or assault weapons.

rbruemmer@postmedia.com