Alan Chan has been hosting airsoft games at SPG Paintball just outside of Morinville for nearly a decade, and he is worried about what a proposed ban on replica weapons might have on the sport.

“It does affect the new people going into this business, or the new people that are trying to get into this sport. It's super discouraging,” he said.

Bill C-21, an act to amend firearm legislation would see, among other things, the prohibition of mid-velocity replica airguns — a move that has many in the industry up in arms.

The proposed legislation would see: a national freeze on handguns; red and yellow flag law, including expanded licence revocation; an increase in smuggling and trafficking penalties; and airguns that closely resemble a real firearm or that discharge a projectile at a velocity between 366 and 500 feet per second would be banned.

“There are other provisions within Bill C-21 that addressed straw purchasing, replicas, and the glorification of gun violence. These are responsible, common-sense measures that all Canadians can get behind,” said Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino at a May 30 press conference.

The legislation, which was sponsored by Mendicino, was introduced into the House of Commons on May 30. The bill was adopted at second reading the last day the House sat before the summer break on June 23, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

Chan, who is also the owner of Comex Hobby Scona in Edmonton — which carries everything from models, toys, to airsoft — said he started by carrying toy guns that people put together, and that morphed into an opportunity to start carrying airsoft guns around 10 years ago.

“We had an opportunity to hook up with one of the suppliers in Calgary, and they started carrying them, they imported them into Canada —that's why we started carrying airsoft,” he said.

Chan said the proposed legislation has scared off many of his suppliers.

A government website states under the proposed legislation, “airguns could no longer be imported, exported, transferred or sold, but current owners could continue to possess and use their existing airguns.”

“As a supplier or distributor, you’re not going to risk taking an entire container of airsoft product,” he said, noting a 20-foot container full of airsoft product can be worth some $700,000. 

If the law were to receive royal assent, the suppliers would lose out. They would be unable to ship any of the supplies back, said Chan.

As such, suppliers have been cutting down on their supplies.

“So are we,” said Chan. “We used to always have roughly around 50 to 60 pistols … in the shop. But lately, we've been cutting it down. Sometimes when it comes to the shop, we might only have four or five guns, like the pistol on hand.”

Chan said if the law passes, it will also be harder for people who have the guns to get repairs done, as they do need maintenance over time, and that will in turn impact the sport.

“If the law does pass, then we'll still host games, but I don't know to how much extent because if anything breaks it might be really hard for us to get parts to repair,” he said.

Chan said, on average they have around 50 to 100 people involved in a single airsoft game

The legislation would not impact airguns that do not resemble a real firearm. In the U.S., airsoft rifles are required to have an orange tip — which is not the case in Canada.

Chan isn’t convinced the law will have any impact on public safety. He said the cases where people go out with the guns are rare. He compares airsoft to archery.

“There's a lot of people that do archery, which again, could inflict a lot more damage to any human being or animals than the airsoft guns,” said Chan. “If you see someone coming and walking around with an (archery bow) you should be scared, too.”

Chan said the federal government is shutting down an industry that brought in about $150 million last year. Airsoft takes up 50 per cent of Chan’s business.

“(If) the law passes, honestly, there's nothing much we can do. We will just probably have to seek something else,” said Chan.

About the Author: Jessica Nelson

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