Aman Sandhu checked shop after shop for a handgun in British Columbia, hoping to buy one before a Canadian government freeze on sales takes effect, but struggled to find one.
"I'm concerned that if I don't buy one now, I may never have the choice again," Mr Sandhu, a member of the Dawson Creek Sportsman's Club, told AFP.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's proposed freeze on pistol sales, which he announced after high-profile mass shootings in the US, has pushed some Canadians to rush to gun shops.
Mr Sandhu is keen to buy a pistol, but he is also wary of becoming mired in new rules that include heavy penalties for minor lapses.
"If I slip up, I could screw up the rest of my firearms ownership," he said, describing a handful of long guns in his collection.
There were queues out the door at several gun shops in British Columbia province within hours of the Liberal leader's declaration on Monday. Other shops across Canada said they sold out within days.
"Sales have been brisk," said Jen Lavigne, co-owner of That Hunting Store in a strip mall on the outskirts of the capital, Ottawa.
The shop sits between a barbershop, a Chinese buffet restaurant and a conservative politician's constituency office.
"We sold 100 handguns, or almost our entire stock, in the last three days since the prime minister announced the freeze," Ms Lavigne said.
A similar scene unfolded at DoubleTap Sports in Toronto. Owner Josko Kovic said the government announcement "created a panic and people are now rushing out to buy handguns."
"Almost all stores are sold out, including me," Mr Kovic said.
According to government estimates, there are more than 1 million handguns in Canada, which has a population of 38 million people. About 2,500 shops sell pistols.
At present, a person must have a restricted firearms licence to buy a handgun. Most also need a special permit to take them from any location to another, and they must be in secured cases.
Shooting ranges are the only places where they can be legally fired.
The regulations, unveiled after mass shootings killed 21 people at an elementary school in Texas and 10 at a supermarket in New York state, would prohibit the purchase, sale, transfer and import of handguns.
They are expected to come into force in autumn, along with a border crackdown on weapons smuggling from the US.
"We are capping the number of handguns in this country," Mr Trudeau said on Monday, because of "a level of gun violence in our communities that is unacceptable".
'Catch-22'
Almost two thirds of gun crimes in Canadian cities over the past decade involved handguns, government data shows.
At That Hunting Store, David, who was picking up a handgun for competition, lamented the new restrictions on top of rules that drag out purchases.
"It's ridiculous," he said. "It takes two months just to get a licence with all the background checks."
Gun shop owners decried the freeze, which must still be passed by Parliament.
"This measure is only going to hurt legal gun owners," Ms Lavigne said. "It's not going to reduce any of the crime because the bad guys don't follow the rules."
Darryl Tomlinson, owner of Canadian Gun Guys in Winnipeg, said he worried about the future of his shop and shooting range, as well as the social network of members.
"This handgun measure is going to take away livelihoods and break up communities," Mr Tomlinson said.
"It's a Catch-22. We're busy now but I fear we're going to be put out of business in the fall."
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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