REGINA — The federal government has launched its national firearms compensation program, although there are still concerns from many provinces, including Saskatchewan, about how it will be implemented.
Over the weekend, federal Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree announced that the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program would be open to all eligible firearms owners as of Monday, Jan. 19.
As of that day, according to a federal news release, all valid Possession and Acquisition Licence holders were to be notified of the program launch, with eligible firearms owners having until March 31 to submit a declaration through the online portal or by mail. Declarations are to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis, aligned with the availability of funds, with the declaration period running from Jan. 19 to March 31. All owners who do not participate must dispose of or permanently deactivate their prohibited firearms before the amnesty period ends on Oct. 30.
"Assault-style firearms do not belong in our communities," said Anandasangaree in a statement. "These types of firearms were designed as weapons of war. Prohibiting and removing them from our communities is an important part of our government's commitment to tackling gun violence and keeping Canadians safe. We also want to make sure that people who own these firearms get fair compensation. The national compensation program we are announcing today will do that. I urge all owners of prohibited assault-style firearms to declare their weapons so they can seek compensation. While participation is voluntary, abiding by the law is not."
But the program has received pushback from gun advocates. Canada’s National Firearms Association said in a statement posted on social media that "even with the deceptive 'voluntary' narrative, non-participation could lead to criminal charges…"
"This program is less about public safety and more a Liberal fact-finding mission, designed to map legally owned firearms under the threat of enforcement."
On the X platform, Canadian Taxpayers Federation Prairie director Gage Haubrich blasted the government for "pushing forward with its wasteful and failing gun confiscation scheme."
"The failure of the Cape Breton pilot project shows that the feds should be scrapping the program, not doubling down and wasting even more money on it," he posted.
A major question surrounds how the guns will be collected and how the program will be administered, with most provinces balking at the idea of collecting and administering the buyback. Alberta has said it is not participating, and recently Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said his province would also not be participating.
"Why would we want to take on that whole headache," Kinew said in response to one reporter, adding the federal program did not appear to be "efficient" or "well run."
During a news conference in Ottawa Saturday, Anandasangaree was asked about Quebec being the only province to sign on so far to administer the program.
He said the vast majority of other jurisdictions would be covered by the RCMP, "who have a nationwide presence," he said. He added there are also local police jurisdictions that have confirmed they are taking part in bringing the program on board.
"At the end of the day we have the capacity," Anandasangaree said. He said the federal government has the ability to ensure nationwide coverage, "with the exception of Saskatchewan and Alberta where there are some technical legal challenges that we are working through." He added they anticipate the program being rolled out across Canada.
In Saskatchewan, the provincial government has been critical of the federal gun buyback, calling it flawed. A major issue has been ensuring Saskatchewan firearms owners are compensated at fair market value if they are required to turn in their guns.
To address that issue, the province introduced amendments to The Saskatchewan Firearms Act during the fall sitting of the legislature.
Then-Minister of Public Safety Tim McLeod indicated at the time that one of the goals behind the amendments was to ensure the “government of Canada be responsible for appropriately compensating firearms owners, lawful firearms owners, whose property has now been devalued, effectively, because of the plan they’ve implemented.”
Saskatchewan Firearms Commissioner Robert Freberg also expressed concerns at the time about issues firearms owners could face in trying to obtain compensation.
He pointed out the federal government had not applied for gun seizure status in Saskatchewan, leaving the province in a situation "where law abiding firearms owners in this province don’t have a way to actually dispose of their firearms because of the fact that they’re not able to abide with the legislation that’s currently in place, which now ends up putting them in the situation where they’re not only in a public safety issue and could possibly face criminal prosecution, but they also have an issue with trying to get compensation."
Freberg also expressed concern about the "first-come, first-served" compensation system potentially leaving Alberta and Saskatchewan at the back of the line. He told reporters the focus was ensuring, as a public safety measure, that they "make sure people want to be in compliance," adding that “one of the things to be in compliance is getting paid.”
The amendments to The Saskatchewan Firearms Act are expected to return for second and third reading when the Legislature resumes in March.
