Feds provide more details of gun buyback program

The Canadian government said Wednesday its gun buyback program will start at the industry level.

During a media conference in Ottawa, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the government has signed a contract with the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association to work with businesses and retailers that currently hold inventory that was prohibited under a May 2020 order-in-council.

In a tweet, the association was quick to set the parameters of its role.

We are not collecting firearms from dealers, deactivating them or assisting in any other way. We are not aware were the number of 11,000 firearms came from as no data has been collection or provided to anyone at this time.

— Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (@csaaaofficial) April 26, 2023

The federal legislation would ban certain types of semi-automatic guns in Canada, and the government has confirmed it will buy back those firearms.

A number of provinces indicated their opposition to the federal government’s proposed ban, and Saskatchewan has passed its own legislation aiming to protect the rights of lawful gun owners.

Saskatchewan also has said it won’t allow the RCMP to use provincial funds to administer and enforce the buyback program.

In response to criticism about the bill, the Trudeau government announced it would re-examine which guns would be affected by the legislation.

The feds’ decision to ban about 1,500 models of firearms the government says are unfit for civilian use came in the wake of a mass shooting in Nova Scotia, the deadliest in modern Canadian history.

The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association also tweeted during Mendicino’s remarks Wednesday that it remains “skeptical” of the industry buyback program, citing concerns about a lack of implementation process.

**The CSAAA remains skeptical as to the viability of this industry buyback program; due to positive changes in provincial legislation, the absence of Federal budgetary allocation, and lacking a concrete process of implementation.**

— Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (@csaaaofficial) April 26, 2023

Mendicino says the Liberal government will be transparent about the cost of the program, which is expected to begin later in 2023, but he did not provide further details at the announcement.

The second phase of the buyback program is expected to target individual gun owners who currently have amnesty under an order that is set to expire in October.

— With files from The Canadian Press