Premier says three-quarters of all guns in Sask. could become illegal under federal legislation

What can be done to stop the federal government’s new legislation on firearms?

That is the question Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government is trying to answer.

According to Moe, thousands of gun owners in the province are at risk of being criminalized by potential changes to Bill C-21. A proposed amendment could result in a ban on millions of semi-automatic rifles and shotguns used for hunting across the country, and that’s left many hunters and gun-sellers concerned.

On Tuesday, Moe told Gormley that 75 per cent of all firearms in the province are at risk of becoming illegal overnight, because the proposed amendment to the federal legislation would broaden the number of firearms being banned.

“The vast, vast majority of those firearms have been purchased legally, are being stored legally, and are most certainly being utilized by our hunters, target shooters and others in the province,” Moe said.

“Legislatively, and from a policy perspective, what can we do to stop this very wrong-headed policy that’s coming from the federal government?”

On Monday, Moe’s government made a motion in the Legislature to utilize all options available to protect the rights of legal gun owners in the province. The motion received unanimous support from the opposition NDP.

Moe said Justin Trudeau’s Liberals need to take note of the strong opposition to their firearms legislation in Saskatchewan.

“This is a tremendous overreach by the federal government,” Moe said. “There needs to be a course correction or, ultimately, I would say there’s going to be a change in government if these types of policies continue in our nation.”