Federal government confirms 25 guns collected in 'buyback' pilot, as Quebec pledges support

OTTAWA — With time ticking down until the Liberals launch their long-awaited “buyback” program for government-banned firearms, the federal government confirmed on Wednesday that only 25 guns were turned over as part of a test run. 

Late Wednesday, Public Safety Canada announced the results of a six-week pilot program that ran in parts of Cape Breton last fall, which was designed to test the system before it rolled out nationally.

The pilot had been launched with the intent of collecting up to a maximum of 200 banned guns. The department confirms only 25 were turned in and destroyed.

In a statement outlining the “lessons learned” from the pilot, the public safety department identified how a clearer registration process would help boost participation and that a “ significantly longer declaration period” would be in place when the national program launches, as compared to the several weeks gun owners were given during the test period. 

It also identified “gaps” in the portal gun owners used to register, which it says may have created confusion.

“The pilot demonstrated that clearer and more timely instructions are required to facilitate participation,” the statement read. 

The federal government, since 2020, has banned more than 2,500 makes and models of guns it has deemed as being “assault-style” firearms, arguing they are unfit for public use.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has announced plans to launch the program promised under his predecessor, former prime minister Justin Trudeau, to compensate gun owners with these weapons sometime this month, slightly later than its initial target, which was by the end of last year.

It had, up until Wednesday, only signed two agreements with Winnipeg and Cape Breton, whose police agreed to collect firearms to be turned over by gun owners under the controversial program.

That day, the federal government added a province to its list of willing participants: Quebec. The public safety department announced it would compensate Quebec to the tune of $12 million to assist in coordinating collection efforts.

Quebec is one of several provinces with its own provincial police force, the Sûreté du Québec, and is the first province to publicly declare its intention to support the federal program. 

Simon Lafortune, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, said in a statement that “several contribution agreements” remain in the works with both provinces and different police forces.

“However, it is also important to note that, where able, the federal government will be collecting these weapons through mobile collection units that will be dispatched across the country,” he added.

Some provinces have outright rejected taking part in the program, such as Ontario. Saddam Khussain, a spokesperson for the provincial solicitor general, said in a statement that it shares “the concern” voiced by the Ontario Provincial Police about how the federal policy would not lead to “meaningful public safety results.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said much of the same, with Mike Ellis, her United Conservative Party government’s public safety minister, sending letters to provincial police chiefs last month advising them against taking part, including any “contracted RCMP service provider.”

Robert Freberg, who serves as commissioner of the Saskatchewan Firearm Office, also said Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government would not be directing local police to partake in the program.

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt’s Liberal government also decided against striking any kind of a deal with the federal government and requested that police resources not be used.

“We have decided against a contribution agreement and advised Public Safety Canada accordingly. Provincial involvement is not required for the federal government to implement its own policy,” Robert Gauvin, the provincial public safety minister, said in a statement. 

“We also asked Public Safety Canada to ensure, as they develop their own plan to implement their compensation program, that active police officers are not used. Police officers’ time is a valuable resource that is better spent on other tasks.”

The Nova Scotia government says the province has no role in the program, while the British Columbia government said it supports the program and was leaving it up to different police forces to determine their participation.

Public safety officials told reporters in a not-for-attribution briefing last fall, when the government announced the launch of the pilot program in Cape Breton, that they did not intend to disrupt the day-to-day operations with administering the “buyback” program and that negotiations with police were ongoing.

While police in Fredericton say they intend to participate in the program, Charlottetown city councillors voted last month against their local police doing so. 

Others say they still need more information.

In Nova Scotia, New Glasgow Regional Police Chief Ryan Leil wrote in an email that it had “ not received any formal updates, directives, or operational guidance from the federal government” about participating, or information about how the pilot went in Cape Breton. 

Around the Greater Toronto Area, Peel police say discussions with the federal government remain ongoing, but that no decisions have been made.

Police in Durham also say it has yet to make a decision and had agreed to attend working group meetings organized by Public Safety Canada to learn more information before deciding either way.

Toronto police said its position from last fall that it would review details of the national program once fully announced had not changed.

Mark Campbell, president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, which represents police leaders across the province, said it had been in contact with federal public safety officials to help provide information about the program to different police in the province.

Last October, the association released a statement outlining concerns it had heard from police in the province about the impending rollout, from a lack of clarity around the scope and procedures to the fact that resources were already “stretched.”

Campbell, who heads the Strathroy-Caradoc Police Service, said policing leaders also voiced concerns about what would happen once the amnesty period ends this October for firearms owners still in possession of a prohibited firearm. 

“What expectations would there be on policing organizations who, you know, turn from being gun collectors to, you know, starting or initiating investigations for illegal firearms in your communities,” he said.

Tracey Wilson, vice-president of public relations and lobbyist for the Canadian Coalition of Firearm Rights, which identifies itself as “Canada’s Gun Lobby,” said that from the start she has viewed the policy as “logistically impossible.”

She suggested the minister had found himself in a position where “nobody wants to touch this,” not only because of its inherent controversy but because of the fact that many police officers are themselves gun owners.

“They’re gunnies. They’re in our community,” Wilson said.

Ken Price, a spokesman for the Danforth Families for Safe Communities, whose daughter was shot during a 2019 shooting in Toronto’s Greektown neighbourhood, said frustration is growing to see the long-promised program finally launched.

“To take this long, I think it’s disappointing.”

National Post

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