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May 1, 2024 – Canada’s Gun Confiscation Hits Four Year Milestone

Monday, April 29, 2024

May 1, 2024 – Canada’s Gun Confiscation Hits Four Year Milestone

Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “assault weapon” ban and confiscation (mandatory “buyback”) scheme was announced on May 1, 2020, with much ado and forceful rhetoric. Six months into the gun ban and confiscation timeline, we wrote how it was “apparent that the government had no implementation plan in place at the time the May gun ban took effect,” with the problems beginning “almost immediately.”

True to form, some 1,500 days post-launch, three government ministers, two amnesty period extensions, and tens of millions of dollars later, it has become increasingly obvious how hopelessly bad the Liberal government’s misguided gun control scheme is, with a few fresh snags now evident.

A firearm industry spokesperson has disclosed that the government failed to consider that parts and accessories, besides the devices and firearms specifically targeted by the legislation, would be covered under the terms of the “buyback.” Wes Winkel, the president of the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA), observes that “the government apparently didn’t anticipate that its ban on ‘assault-style’ firearms involved a massive number of parts and accessories that could be captured by the buyback’s planned expropriation, which will require gun owners and retailers holding inventory of those items to be compensated.”

The ban applies to a category of firearms “which is so modular in nature,” with “different parts [that] can be fastened to different weapons that then fall into the assault-style category… many of these things are in different facets of being built at the (retailer) level; most were not sold complete.” According to Mr. Winkel, the CSAAA “has helped identify and price over 3,500 separate parts and components that should be eligible for compensation.” Not only will this add to the scope of the confiscation and its implementation, but to the already ballooning price tag.

In another setback, a plan to have Canada Post, a Crown Corporation, assist in the collection of the banned firearms, components and parts by allowing affected owners to mail their property to the government in special “government-issued boxes,” has reportedly been forestalled by the postal service. According to a news source, the decision was based in concerns over employee security. The confiscation-by-mail option would have afforded the government an opportunity to cut costs and staffing requirements. However, losses and theft by Canada Post employees are not unheard of, and it is uncertain whether mail-in confiscation would even be lawful under the terms of the 2020 gun ban regulations. (SOR/2020-97, on the terms of the amnesty, provides that an owner of a prohibited firearm or device may “deliver the specified firearm or specified device to a police officer” for destruction, or transport it by vehicle for the purpose of surrendering it to a police officer using a “reasonably direct” route, where the firearm/device is not left unattended in the vehicle.)    

National news sources have also started shining a light on the financial aspects and runaway cost of Trudeau’s ban and gun grab. Internal government documents from 2019, obtained pursuant to an access to information request last year, reportedly showed that the cost of the gun “buyback” was estimated to be “nearly $2 billion, despite assurances during the last federal election that expropriating so-called ‘assault rifles’ from licensed Canadian firearms owners would only cost between $400 million and $600 million… How much the confiscation will cost has been a popular subject around Parliament Hill.” Even dramatically larger price tag is suspect, given that the “federal government has yet to release any sound estimates on what the expropriation would cost taxpayers.”

One indication of future costs may be to calculate how much the government has already spent on the program. Another newspaper article indicates that, in response to an order paper question filed by Senate Opposition leader Don Plett last September, “Public Safety Canada revealed that $41,904,556 has been spent so far” on the mandatory “buyback,” with 60 department employees working on the project. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is managing its own team of 15 full-time employees assigned to the confiscation program, “Public Services and Procurement Canada said it has devoted ‘the equivalent of 5.825 full-time employees’ to the project,” with a further two employees from Service Canada. How, asks Sen. Plett, “can your government have spent $42 million on this, when not a single firearm has been bought back?”

Indeed, the only solid accomplishment of the gun confiscation program appears to be the size of the bureaucratic army it has enabled. Wes Winkel describes weekly meetings on the progress of the program. “Typically it’s one or two people from our organization, and now, at times, there’s as many as 30 or 35 bureaucrats from the federal government on those conference calls.”       

And so, it’s on to Year Five. Simon Fraser University Professor Gary Mauser – who early on pegged the real cost of the “buyback” as potentially exceeding C$6 billion – notes, with massive understatement, that “Ottawa is not having much success with their efforts on this file.”

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Guide To The Interstate Transportation Of Firearms

Gun Laws  

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Guide To The Interstate Transportation Of Firearms

CAUTION: Federal and state firearms laws are subject to frequent change. This summary is not to be considered as legal advice or a restatement of law.

Michigan: Anti-Gun Legislation Passed in the Middle of the Night Heads To Governor’s Desk

Friday, December 20, 2024

Michigan: Anti-Gun Legislation Passed in the Middle of the Night Heads To Governor’s Desk

With the sun setting on the 2023-2024 legislative session, yesterday the Michigan Senate held a marathon session lasting over 24 hours. While citizens were sleeping, anti-gun lawmakers were able to pass two pieces of legislation, ...

Here We Go Again: Anti-gun States Simultaneously Sue Law-Abiding Gunmaker

News  

Friday, December 13, 2024

Here We Go Again: Anti-gun States Simultaneously Sue Law-Abiding Gunmaker

Last week, the anti-gun attorneys general of Minnesota and New Jersey filed nearly simultaneous lawsuits against firearm maker Glock, essentially claiming the company was violating the laws of those states by making guns that are too easy to illegally ...

Concealed Carry Permit, Gun Sale Numbers Stay Strong in 2024

News  

Monday, December 16, 2024

Concealed Carry Permit, Gun Sale Numbers Stay Strong in 2024

The Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) has released the latest in its series of annual reports on trends in concealed carry permits in America.

Michigan: Final Push to Limit Gun Rights as Session Clock Runs Down

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Michigan: Final Push to Limit Gun Rights as Session Clock Runs Down

With only a few days left in the session, anti-gun legislators are doing everything they can to pass additional legislation restricting the Second Amendment rights of Michigan citizens. The legislation below could be taken up ...

Gun Control Activists Cite “Loopholes” in CEO’s Murder, Ignore Facts and Law

News  

Monday, December 16, 2024

Gun Control Activists Cite “Loopholes” in CEO’s Murder, Ignore Facts and Law

Predictably, gun control activists are citing the cold-blooded Manhattan murder of health insurance executive Brian Thompson to call for more gun control, particularly in the hot-button areas of “ghost guns” and “3D printed firearms.” 

Maine: Prepare for Progressives to Attack Your Hunting Rights

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Maine: Prepare for Progressives to Attack Your Hunting Rights

While 2024 may be winding down now, the 2025 legislative session is about to heat up, and radical anti-gun progressive politicians are already planning new ways to strip you of your fundamental rights.  

NYC Subway More Dangerous Than the Gridiron?

News  

Monday, December 16, 2024

NYC Subway More Dangerous Than the Gridiron?

Violent crime in New York City has been a growing concern over the last few years.  

Canada Announces New Gun Bans, More Gun Control on the Horizon

News  

Monday, December 9, 2024

Canada Announces New Gun Bans, More Gun Control on the Horizon

On December 5, at a late afternoon press conference in Ottawa, Canada’s federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced that 324 additional makes and variants of rifles would be added to the 2020 list of ...

Michigan: Take Action Against Anti-Gun Legislation TODAY!

Friday, December 13, 2024

Michigan: Take Action Against Anti-Gun Legislation TODAY!

With lame duck session in full swing, Michigan Democrats are doing everything they can to pass additional anti-gun legislation. Last night, the Senate passed, among other things, legislation that would restrict home-built firearms and ban ...

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Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.