Trudeau Liberals to launch gun confiscation program next year: report

Alex Dhaliwal
  |   April 30, 2024   |   Be the first to comment

The Trudeau Liberals have confirmed their gun ‘buyback scheme’ will be rolled out in 2025, an election year.

Last December 20, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc confirmed the federal government would defer regulation and confiscation of ‘prohibited’ firearms until December 1, 2025.

“The proposed deferral of two years is based in part on industry recommendation and the department’s assessment regarding the time required to engage on the requirements and for the industry to prepare,” the department wrote in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement.

The feds reached a $700,000 agreement last year with the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association to confiscate “assault rifles” from retailers.

However, although Minister LeBlanc acknowledged stiff resistance to Bill C-21, An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms), he never disclosed which stakeholders opposed the legislation.

The program faced considerable delays owing to Canada Post's refusal to participate, reported CBC News. They cited security concerns with collecting banned firearms at post offices.

The federal government hoped law-abiding gun owners would pack their unloaded weapons in boxes for transport to Canada Post, where they would be dismantled at a later date.

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. 

The ‘buyback scheme’ passed the Senate on December 14, 2023 without amendments by a vote of 60 to 24. It received royal assent the following day.

However, Canada Post expressed concern with employees being exposed to the theft of firearms and angry confrontations with law-abiding gun owners reluctant to comply with federal legislation.

“The government is crazy if it thinks we can do this safely,” said one Canada Post employee, who notes his post office, situated in a small municipality, has “zero” security measures.

In a media statement to the state broadcaster, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said “our members’ health and safety must be a priority.”

“No one is rushing to participate in the program,” a federal government source told Radio-Canada anonymously.

Minister LeBlanc earlier deferred the confiscation program from October 30, 2023, to October 30, 2025. "We specifically extended the gun amnesty so as not to criminalize people," he told the Senate National Security Committee last October 23.

Backed by punitive legislation, Cabinet earlier froze the purchase, sale, transfer, and import of handguns in October 2022. 

Ottawa tried to restrict the purchase of shotguns and rifles commonly used by sport shooters, hunters and farmers, but failed to reach a consensus with the provinces and stakeholders last year.

Public Safety Canada, in response to an order paper question filed by Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, uncovered the federal government spending $41,094,556 without any results.

They estimate businesses own between 10,000 to 15,000 prohibited firearms, according to the order paper disclosure. Another 125,000 to 200,000 firearms, barred under the OIC, are owned by licensed individuals. 

“We have been explicit and careful to ensure that these measures do not target people [who] practice their sport and other recreational activities,” said LeBlanc. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith reiterated those remarks in conversation with Rebel News.

“We believe that the issue is the illegal firearms getting into the hands of gangs and organized crime coming across the border,” she said.

Should Canada Post maintain their refusal, Ottawa may consider a regional approach to the program, depending on the willingness of provincial governments.

The federal government may also consider employing local law enforcement and private security firms to confiscate firearms at currently unknown “drop-off points,” reported CBC News.

Smith told the publication last month her government would not comply with the program in any event. “I wish them continued success at being able to achieve zero compliance,” she said.

“No one wants to be involved in this program because it is so unpopular,” added Teri Bryant, Alberta's chief firearms officer. “I don't see any way it can be done.” 

Should the federal government breach this division of powers, the Government of Alberta claimed they will “take all measures” to protect the constitutional rights of Albertans. 

Bill 8, the Alberta Firearms Act, reiterates provincial jurisdiction over firearms and proposes a provincial license for gun seizures in Alberta. The ownership of approximately 50,000 banned firearms is at stake in the province once the amnesty period ends.

When asked if Alberta would invoke the Sovereignty Act over the issue, Smith did not directly answer. 

The two-year deferral permits industry additional time to ensure regulatory compliance and manage existing supply. Among the regulations include standard serial numbers for all firearms manufactured and sold in Canada as opposed to unique identification marks incompatible with others, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.

“Currently there is no legislative or regulatory requirement to mark firearms in Canada,” reads Analysis Statement. Marking firearms is crucial to tracing guns used to commit illicit activity, including the trafficking of firearms, it reads.

Alex Dhaliwal

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