Smith tells ministers to 'relentlessly defend' gun owners, right to self-defence in new mandate letters

OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is directing her two top public safety officials to prioritize safeguarding gun owners and those who act in self-defence from federal overreach.

Updated mandate letters sent by Smith to Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery and Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis on Thursday contained identical instructions to “relentlessly defend Albertans’ right to lawful and safe possession of firearms and right to self-defence.”

This is a new item on both ministers’ to-do lists.

Amery told National Post that it’s not an accident the premier’s new directive to vigorously defend Albertan gun owners coincides with the launch of a pilot program for the Liberal government’s assault-style gun buy-back program, which Alberta has said it won’t cooperate with.

“We’ve been unequivocally clear that this program is ill-conceived and misguided, and it is so because it unfairly targets law abiding gun owners,” said Amery.

The federal government announced on Tuesday that it was implementing its long promised buy-back program for individual assault-style firearm owners, starting with a six-week test run in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said a full rollout of the program would come later this fall.

Alberta’s justice ministry issued a protocol in late 2022 guiding Crown lawyers not to pursue charges against otherwise law-abiding Albertans for the simple possession of federally prohibited firearms, and Amery says he’s exploring further legal options to protect Albertans from Ottawa’s gun ban.

“I will absolutely be looking at the 2022 guideline to ensure it reflects the current environment that we’re dealing with,” said Amery.

Canadians could face criminal penalties for possessing any of the more than 2,500 models of firearms on the federal government’s list of “assault-style” guns when the amnesty period ends in October 2026.

Amery added that the “timeliness” of recent national news stories about law-abiding homeowners having to defend themselves and their families from intruders has made the legal right to self-defence a front-burner issue.

“My sympathies lie with law-abiding Albertans, and less so with the criminals who are committing these crimes,” said Amery.

Smith was less diplomatic when asked last month about a Lindsay, Ont. incident where a man was arrested and criminally charged for defending himself against a crossbow-wielding intruder .

“Well, if you don’t want to get shot or beaten up, don’t break into people’s houses,” said Smith.

Amery said he’s considering putting forward additional prosecuting guidelines that “reinforce” the Alberta’s Crown’s position that homeowners have the right to reasonably defend themselves and their families in the case of a break-in, and shouldn’t fear criminal prosecution for doing so.

Ellis said that Alberta will also be barring both Canada Post and private couriers from transporting seized firearms within the province.

“I can tell you, as a former police officer, it sounds like an absolutely horrible idea to have mail trucks ferrying around live firearms,” said Ellis.

Amery and Ellis said in a joint statement on Tuesday that Anandasangaree’s own private remarks about the gun buy-back, made public in a leaked recording , further undermines the program’s credibility.

“(L)eaked audio … shows the (public safety) minister himself is doubtful this policy will be effective or enforced … Further, (he) has made it very clear that they are only keeping this program to satisfy Liberal voters in Quebec,” read the statement.

The two ministers called on Ottawa to immediately cancel the $742-million compensation program and redirect the funds toward intercepting illegal firearms.

The letters to Amery and Ellis were two of four updated mandate letters sent out by Smith on Thursday.

National Post

rmohamed@postmedia.com

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