Trudeau demotes gun lobby over gun grab failure
The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association, who received a $700,000 contract last year for advice on the ‘buyback’ scheme, criticized the feds for prioritizing ‘political wins’ and pandering to victims’ groups on gun confiscation.
The Trudeau government demoted a gun lobby after fielding criticism of their approach to confiscating firearms. The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA) reached a $700,000 agreement last year for advice on the Liberals' “buyback” scheme.
The lobby was demoted from “participant” to “consultant” over vocal opposition to the government’s plan. The CSAAA lamented the feds over a “severe lack of consultation” on these policies by industry actors.
“The government’s approach often prioritizes political wins and input from victims’ groups, leaving industry experts and the legal firearms community sidelined with no say in their own futures,” the association said in a written statement.
In early 2021, the families of the Polytechnique victims uninvited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to future commemoration activities after proposing a voluntary buyback program.
“How can we commemorate with the prime minister, and with Minister LeBlanc, if he didn't fulfill his promises?” PolyRemembers spokesperson Nathalie Provost told CBC News. “It's not a time for promises. It's time for actions and decisions.”
Discussing his proposed gun grab, PM Trudeau responds to criticism of his legislation.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 3, 2023
Standing by Bill C-21, the PM accused the Conservatives of “pitting urban Canadians against rural Canadians.”https://t.co/TTs0E4Hebn pic.twitter.com/v1QFnWPyUp
The feds tabled a mandatory confiscation scheme later that year. It passed the Senate on December 14, 2023 without amendments by a vote of 60 to 24, and received royal assent the following day.
The Trudeau government also reached a $700,000 agreement last year for the CSAAA to aid with the confiscation of “assault rifles” from retailers. Canada Post earlier declined involvement, citing security concerns.
Wes Winkel, President of the CSAAA, told True North that his association’ role was strictly structural administration. The lobby was contracted to help businesses with communications, mark inventorying for confiscation, and assess adequate compensation for those impacted by the program.
Following the demotion, the association will no longer collect or distribute data on the “buyback” program. True North previously reported that the CSAAA felt like a political “pawn” of the federal government.
Winkel told True North his association was demoted for one of two reasons: Either the feds took issue with them being a highly critical participant or they themselves could not table solutions.
WATCH: PM Trudeau confirms the Bill C-21 gun grab will take away selected hunting weapons.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) December 20, 2022
Sign our petition and tell Trudeau to keep his https://t.co/lQhONPGfO0! pic.twitter.com/PjhKjCzj0h
The association notes there are no solutions to mitigate flaws. “The confiscation program is a fundamentally flawed idea,” reads the release.
“They got frustrated with us and basically changed the contract to say that we’re now just consultants,” Winkel said. “We’re no longer doing any participation in the actual program itself,” he added.
Winkel also notes the Trudeau government has yet to fund the program appropriately. Despite still not collecting a single gun, the cost of the program recently rose to $67 million. Provost called it “a waste of Canadians' money.”
The Budget Officer calculated the “buyback” program would cost taxpayers over $750 million to compensate firearm owners. Other estimates exceed several billions of dollars.
Winkel notes that administrative costs will be “considerably more” than the amount given to firearms owners in compensation. “Like everything the government does, the bureaucracy runs amok. And, now, we end up with huge cost overruns,” he said.
Marco Mendicino, Trudeau's Minister of Public Safety told reporters the Liberal's latest gun grab will cost taxpayers nearly $30 million.pic.twitter.com/6YsasoYExJ
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) April 27, 2023
Cabinet in 2020 proposed mandatory buyback of some 200,000 firearms it considered “assault-style.” The Order in Council (OIC) banned over 1,500 gun models.
PolyRemembers wants confiscation efforts to include all “assault-style” firearms that remain legal. They fear firearms owners will purchase similar models with their compensation cheque.
Last December 20, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc confirmed the federal government would defer regulation and confiscation of ‘prohibited’ firearms until December 1, 2025. A spokesperson for the minister said they have “no intention… modifying the list at this point.”
“Our efforts are focused on successfully launching the program. That is the most concrete way to reinforce public safety in Canada and respect the objectives that we have set,” said Jean-Sébastien Comeau.
Winkel said that by the next federal election, the Liberals may collect some guns to justify the process in their electoral campaign. “But I don’t believe that there will be any substance to the volume that gets collected,” he said.
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.