Announcement comes shortly after Rebecca Bligh was expelled from ABC Vancouver, signalling significant shift from the party’s approach in 2022
VANCOUVER (Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territories) - Ken Sim’s candidate Ralph Kaisers opposes Canada’s national handgun freeze, implemented in Bill C-21. The ban implemented strict controls on the sale and transfer of handguns, in an effort to curb gender-based gun violence.
Kaisers’ announcement as a candidate comes shortly after Rebecca Bligh, who worked to build supportive housing and bring in all voices, was expelled from the ABC Vancouver caucus.
On October 22, 2024, Kaisers tweeted: “Stopping legal sales won’t stop criminals from getting guns illegally. You’re only restricting law-abiding citizens while doing little to address actual crime and violence.”
This is a position that is shared by John Rustad, Leader of the BC Conservatives, who during the 2024 election campaign promised to instruct police not to enforce Bill C-21’s ban on handguns or assault weapons.
Bill C-21, which contained the handgun ban, is supported by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD). On November 23, 2023, Fiona Wilson, Deputy Chief Constable at the VPD, said to the Senate of Canada:
“...I do know that, as a policing agency, we have significant concerns about someone who is prone to domestic violence. We’ve seen this in a number of cases across the country, namely, their use of lawfully owned firearms against their victims.
As I said, anything that gives us tools to try and combat that is much appreciated.”
Bill C-21 was also supported by feminist organizations across Canada, for its measures targeting gender-based violence.
Kaisers’ position against gun control is matched by other inflammatory positions, such as posting an image containing “fuck the DTES grifters” on Twitter.
Lucy Maloney, OneCity Vancouver council candidate:
“Last week, Ken Sim expelled a councillor who worked with all communities, wanted to build supportive housing, and conducted herself with integrity and compassion. This week, he’s running a candidate who has posted ‘fuck the DTES grifters,’ who has undermined ABC’s own body-worn cameras program, and who is opposed to federal gun control laws. Next week, he will try to ban all new supportive housing, making all of us less safe.
This isn’t the Ken Sim people voted for in 2022. This is a man who, instead of hiring 100 nurses, has hired 12 - while promising to ‘barrage’ the Downtown Eastside, causing fear and eroding the trust of the community. His plan won’t work for Vancouver. He’s not working for you.”
Dr. Emma Cunliffe, Former Director, Research and Policy at the Mass Casualty Commission and Professor at UBC:
“Intimate partner violence is a scourge. Access to firearms is linked to a tenfold increase in the likelihood that intimate partner violence will be fatal. The national freeze on handguns is a critical step in reducing gender-based violence.
It is beyond comprehension that a candidate for Vancouver City Council would oppose the national handgun freeze, which I supported at the Senate of Canada alongside Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson of the Vancouver Police Department.
Any candidate who is serious about public safety would support laws that address the clear relationship between handgun ownership and family homicide.”
