The federal government has extended the amnesty period for its firearms ban while the Supreme Court of Canada prepares to hear a legal challenge to the policy.

Under the extension, the compliance deadline for affected firearm owners will take effect 90 days after the Supreme Court issues its decision. The court's decision to hear the case is significant, as it accepts only a small number of appeals each year.

The ban stems from a series of federal orders-in-council issued since 2020, prohibiting hundreds of firearm models and forming the basis of Ottawa's planned buyback program.

Speaking on The Ezra Levant Show, National Firearms Association executive vice-president Blair Hagen said the policy has little connection to public safety.

“Basically, this is a boutique issue for the Liberal Party of Canada,” Hagen said. “We all know it doesn't [improve public safety], but the government is committed to it. It's an ideological cause for them.”

Hagen argued that the ban targets lawfully owned firearms rather than weapons commonly used in criminal activity.

“Don't forget all of these firearms are owned by licensed firearms owners,” he said. “They were not purchased unlawfully or owned unlawfully.”

They also discussed the focus of the policy amid rising gang violence and illegal firearms trafficking.

The crime in the big cities is almost exclusively done with illegal firearms smuggled in from the States, which are simply not touched by these laws.

With the case headed to the Supreme Court, the future of Ottawa's firearms ban remains uncertain.