The passage of a motion by opposition parties in the Yukon brings to five the number of provinces and territories standing against the Trudeau government's planned mandatory gun "buy back" program.
As previously reported by Guns.com, in May 2020, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a sweeping gun ban on over 1,500 models of “military-style assault weapons" which would affect some 125,000 semi-auto rifles. The ban prohibited the use of those firearms while a government program set for 2023 would result in confiscation and negligible reimbursement. Parliament was suspended at the time of the ban, due to COVID-19, resulting in no opposition to the proposal. Trudeau used an Order of Council, roughly akin to an Executive Order here in the States, to pass the ban.
However, at least five of the country's 13 provinces and territories are now making moves to give Ottawa grief when it comes to enforcing the controversial program. Last week, officials in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and New Brunswick called on the federal government to halt the confiscation and have promised to withhold funds to make the "buybacks" a thing in their regions.
"Make no mistake, the federal firearms confiscation program will cost us billions and will not improve public safety," said Tyler Shandro, Minister of Justice, and Solicitor General for Alberta. "Alberta’s government is not legally obligated to provide resources and will not do so."
Yukon's House likewise passed a motion – over Liberal opposition – to urge the territorial government to ensure that local resources are not diverted to "assist in the implementation of the federal Liberal government’s flawed gun ‘buy-back’ program."
Even law enforcement groups aren't in favor of the federal government's plans, with the National Police Federation – the union that represents the RCMP, which is tasked with making the confiscation a reality – pointing out it does nothing to address criminal activity, gang crime, or the like. "In fact, it diverts extremely important personnel, resources, and funding away from addressing the more immediate and growing threat of criminal use of illegal firearms," said the group.
A report by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation details that the government's confiscation administration has already spent $3.7 million so far and hasn't taken in the first gun. The group further details that the non-partisan Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates reimbursing gun owners for outlawed firearms will cost up to $756 million alone – a figure that does not include administrative or staffing costs. This is almost four times the amount the Liberal government estimated the program would require.
"Trudeau needs to cut his losses and put an end to this ineffective and expensive policy," said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the CTF. "The people protecting us say the gun ban and buyback won’t make Canadians safer, and taxpayers don’t need another government program that wastes our money."
Banner image: The Ruger Mini-14, one of the many common semi-auto rifles banned by the Trudeau government. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
