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The provincial government has introduced legislation changes to help gun owners from losing money through the federal gun buyback program.
The Government of Canada banned more than 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms in 2020 and a program was developed to provide compensation for eligible businesses and individuals who own prohibited firearms.
Proposed changes to the Saskatchewan Firearms Act say that a seized gun would need to be bought back at fair market value.
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That amount would be determined by the Saskatchewan Firearms Office (SFO) Commissioner.
In a news release, the provincial government said the federal government’s gun buyback program will operate on a first-come, first-serve approach, and will cap out once $742 million has been paid.
It said there are no guarantees more money will be paid once the cap is reached.
Saskatchewan Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Tim McLeod called the federal gun buyback program “flawed.”
“The purposes of these amendments are to ensure that the Government of Canada would then be responsible for appropriately compensating lawful firearms owners whose property has now been devalued, effectively because of the plan that they’ve implemented,” he said.
An online portal will help appraise the value of more than 2,500 firearms that have been prohibited by the federal government.
The appraisal portal is geared to help gun owners for “evidence in court to hold the federal government accountable for providing fair compensation to all those affected by their legislation” according to a news release from the province.
The provincial government said it is continuing to advocate for the federal government to pursue other avenues instead of the buyback program.
SFO Commissioner Robert Freberg said the federal government and its officials have not applied for gun seizure status.
“That’s basically left us with a situation where law-abiding firearms owners in this province don’t have a way to actually dispose of their firearms because they’re not able to comply with the legislation that’s currently in place,” he said.
Freberg said changes were made so gun owners aren’t in a situation where they could be criminally charged.
The amendments to the act will also allow for the SFO to store returned firearms so owners don’t face charges.
“We want to make sure that they get fair compensation, which we believe is going to drive compliance,” he said.
Other amendments to the act include medical professionals being able to make recommendations to the SFO about people with medical conditions deemed unfit or unsafe to own a gun.
— with files by CJME News
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