The federal government is refusing to say exactly which firearms it seized during a pilot confiscation program in Cape Breton — despite the program involving just 25 guns.

In Order Paper Question Q-856, Conservative MP Frank Caputo pressed the government for basic details: what makes and models were collected, and how much was paid for each.

The answer from Public Safety Canada? No details.

According to the response, the Cape Breton Firearms Compensation Program Pilot collected 25 so-called “assault-style firearms” from 16 individuals, paying out a total of $26,525 or about $1,061 per firearm.

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But when it comes to what those firearms actually were, the government drew a hard line.

Officials claimed releasing the makes and models could compromise “operational security” and violate the “privacy of individual owners,” particularly given the small sample size and localized nature of the program.

That explanation is baffling, given the limited scope: a small, tightly controlled pilot project involving just over two dozen firearms in a single region.

The government added that full results from the broader national confiscation program will be released at the program’s conclusion, though it signalled that similar privacy and security restrictions will still apply.

The refusal to disclose basic information comes amid ongoing criticism that Ottawa’s firearm confiscation scheme lacks transparency, even as costs continue to mount and key metrics, including how many firearms have actually been collected nationwide, remain unclear.