A year ago this Saturday, the Mass Casualty Commission tabled its final report into the Nova Scotia mass shooting that claimed 22 lives in April 2020. The report recommended a series of measures pertaining to firearms policy, most of them applauded by the families of the victims and gun control advocates.

Today in The Conversation Canada R. Blake Brown from Saint Mary’s University takes a look back at the recommendations and provides a rundown on the progress of federal and provincial governments in implementing them over the past year.

He writes: “The federal government has had a mixed record in implementing the commission’s firearms policy recommendations. Some provincial governments, however, have sought to limit implementation.”

Also today:

 

Lee-Anne Goodman

Politics Editor
An image shows the firearms found in the car driven by Gabriel Wortman, the perpetrator of the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead. It was shown at the Mass Casualty Commission inquiry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

N.S. Mass Casualty Commission a year later: What recommendations have been implemented?

R. Blake Brown, Saint Mary’s University

Over the past year, Ottawa has had a mixed record in implementing the Mass Casualty Commission’s firearm recommendations. Some provinces, however, have sought to limit implementation.
Changes in light qualities during a solar eclipse are quick and drastic, so familiarity with aperture and shutter speed are important. People with cameras among viewers of a partial solar eclipse in Yanguan town, Haining City, China, in 2009. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Photographing the eclipse? You’ll join a long history of people seeking proof of experience

Amy Friend, Brock University; Keri Cronin, Brock University

Apart from technical aspects, a successful photograph of the eclipse serves as a lasting reminder of the sense of wonder and the feeling of being part of something larger than ourselves.
People attend a protest in Karachi, Pakistan, on June 6, 2022, in response to derogatory references to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad by a spokesperson of India’s governing party. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws continue to cause violence

Azmat Abbas, Wilfrid Laurier University

Pakistan’s laws against blasphemy have been used to bring cases against numerous people over the years, and in particular, the country’s religious minorities.
The waters of Crawford Lake in Milton, Ont., in July 2023. Crawford Lake was the site of the proposed ‘golden spike’ — the most compelling evidence for the beginning of the geological Anthropocene. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Anthropocene or not, it is our current epoch that we should be fighting for

Soren Brothers, University of Toronto

The recent rejection of the start of the Anthropocene epoch reminds us of the paramount importance of preserving what remains of our current Holocene.
The chip manufacturing industry of the 21st century is the most significant industry, geopolitically speaking, as oil was in the 20th century. (Shutterstock)

Climate change puts global semiconductor manufacturing at risk. Can the industry cope?

Josh Lepawsky, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Global semiconductor manufacturing is already under geopolitical stress, but climate change ups the ante.

La Conversation Canada
Photographie de l’éclipse solaire totale de 2017, prise à l’Oregon State Fair Grounds, à Salem, en Oregon. (Dominic Hart/NASA)

L’archéoastronomie étudient les anciennes éclipses solaires afin de nous aider à reconstituer l’histoire

Sarah Sadavoy, Queen's University, Ontario

Les mentions d’éclipses totales de Soleil dans l’histoire ancienne aident les chercheurs à déterminer les dates précises d’événements notables.
De tout temps, les éclipses ont inspiré les sociétés à comprendre le cosmos et ses événements. (Shutterstock)

Les éclipses totales de Soleil constituent une occasion de s’intéresser à la science, à la culture et à l’histoire

Nikhil Arora, Queen's University, Ontario; Mark Richardson, Queen's University, Ontario

Les éclipses ont inspiré des mythes, des prédictions et des découvertes scientifiques. L’éclipse solaire totale du 8 avril est une occasion unique de s’intéresser à la science et au cosmos.
Un soldat de la Garde nationale russe sécurise une zone alors qu'un gigantesque incendie s'abat sur l'hôtel de ville de Crocus à Moscou. Une filiale de l'État islamique a revendiqué l'attaque de la salle de concert qui a tué plus de 130 personnes. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

L’attaque de l’État islamique (EI-K) à Moscou risque d’aggraver la guerre entre la Russie et l’Ukraine

James Horncastle, Simon Fraser University

L’Ukraine a nié toute implication dans l’attentat terroriste de Moscou. Cela ne signifie pas que la Russie n’essaiera pas d’utiliser cet événement pour intensifier sa guerre avec l’Ukraine.

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