Ottawa - New measures to limit handguns are expected to be a central feature of federal legislation to be introduced this afternoon, the latest and likely boldest set of proposed actions by the Liberal government to control firearm access in Canada.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino will present the bill after question period before joining Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and supportive voices, including some mayors from across the country, at a press conference at the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa.

This legislation will revive some federal measures that were not passed before last year's general election and will embody new proposals introduced during the subsequent campaign.

These include a mandatory buyback of firearms the government considers assault weapons, a crackdown on magazines and publications that promote high-capacity firearms, and efforts to combat arms trafficking.

The Liberals have also promised to work with provinces and territories that want to completely ban handguns.

Although a national ban is not expected in the bill, the government can take steps in that direction by phasing out private handgun ownership with a cap on the number of firearms licenses, banning the import and manufacture of new handguns, or enacting stricter storage rules.

The gun control advocacy group PolySeSouvient criticized the government's approach of leaving the handgun ban issue to provinces individually, saying it will create an ineffective patchwork of rules in Canada.

Trudeau defended this approach last week, citing "a range of opinions and perspectives across the country."

Speaking about the Robb Elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, Trudeau said Canadians are "remarkably united in the desire to reduce gun violence."

Speaking at a press conference in Saskatchewan last Tuesday, Trudeau said, "This unity is what we will move forward with by taking new steps in the coming weeks on gun control."

The firearm ban, a key government promise on gun control, involves moving ahead with a mandatory buyback of models the government banned in May 2020.

This plan has been praised by gun control advocates, but Conservative MPs and others opposing it have suggested it targets lawful gun owners rather than preventing illegal firearms from falling into the wrong hands.

The buyback will cover around 1,500 models of firearms banned by the government through the internal system on the basis that they have no place in hunting or sport shooting.

However, some similar models remain legal, and gun control advocates say Canadian manufacturers have circumvented rules by introducing new firearms.

PolySeSouvient urged the government to change the firearm classification system to close loopholes and group all current and future firearms falling into this category.

Several women's groups also called on the government to drop a provision in the previous version of the bill that required potential victims to seek a court order to deprive aggressors of their weapons.

The National Association of Women and Law and several other groups warned Mendicino in a letter this month that so-called red flag conditions shift responsibility for enforcing gun laws from authorities to others, including potential targets of violence.

The letter stated: "Citizens or other organizations, let alone potential victims, should not be expected to risk themselves by going to court to request a measure that should be immediate and within the direct responsibility of the police."

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair