One can have a hunting rifle but the rules are strict. I cannot buy a handgun. If one were found in my car of my house...you can expect jail time...there is no tolerance at all. People still manage to get guns though...the bad folks. That does not say that we should let everyone carry them because the crooks have them. There are a lot of hot heads out there who would probably kill if a gun was in their hands.
It sounds as though your laws are exactly the same as ours. I wonder if that has anything to do with you being a commonwealth country? Given your location in the world, I'd have thought you'd have more in common with the US than the UK.
I really do need to visit Canada and the US. They're both on my list of places I have to visit one day.