Sarah Mills: Volunteers are the glue that hold our kids' sports together
From the grandpa who rakes the diamond to the parent coach in soccer and the mom cutting flags around little waists, Sar...
Saskatchewan’s Firearms Amendment Act is now in full force, allowing firearm owners as well as businesses in the province to apply for certificates of exemption to continue to possess and store banned firearms.
In order to receive a certificate, people have to request an appraisal, or certificate of value, through the province’s Firearms Verification and Appraisal Service (FVA).
Read more:
- New firearms commissioner says owners of banned guns are protected by Sask. legislation
- ‘Thanks to Carney and the Liberal Government’: Longtime Regina gun shop owner retiring
The FVA is able to be accessed through a Saskatchewan account and will be administered by Saskatchewan Firearms Office (SFO). The SFO will review applications, verify that the firearms are impacted by the federal legislation, and then provide certificates of value outlining what compensation firearm owners should receive from the federal government.
“Our residents will then be able to use these certificates of value to pursue fair market compensation for their impacted property,” said Tim McLeod, Saskatchewan’s justice minister and the minister responsible for the Firearms Secretariat.
“We believe these amendments and certificates of value and exemption will provide a legal and fair way for all Saskatchewan firearms owners to be compensated for their legally owned and lawfully obtained property that has now been impacted by federal legislation.”
McLeod said that the money used to set up the FVA could be better used in other areas.
“We believe this funding would be better spent supporting the Saskatchewan ballistics lab or targeting organized crime, gang, and illegal drug activities and preventing firearms from being smuggled into our country from the United States — those measures would have a real impact on reducing crime in our communities,” he said.
The certificates of exemption will protect owners of reclassified firearms from facing potential criminal charges after the federal firearms amnesty period ends on Oct. 30.
“Work is currently underway by the Saskatchewan Firearms Office to ensure that all provincial police services and the courts are aware of the certificates of exemption and the use of Section 117.08 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
“We do not support the use of provincially funded police resources for the federal firearms buyback program — we want to ensure that our police services can focus on delivering core policing duties within our communities,” McLeod said.
Saskatchewan Firearms Commissioner Blaine Bevan said the FVA program is free and secure.
“This app can be found through your personal or business Saskatchewan account on saskatchewan.ca. If you don’t currently have a Saskatchewan account, it’s free for individuals or businesses, there’s no cost to use the FVA service or to request certificates of values or exemptions from the firearms office,” Bevan said.
“Any information that a resident enters into the FVA service is kept secure and is only used by the Government of Saskatchewan and would only be for addressing users’ requests,” he said, adding that the information would not be shared with the federal government or the Canadian firearms program.
“Saskatchewan residents do not need to participate in the federal government’s buyback program to use this service, or if they have participated in the federal government’s declaration period, it won’t affect their ability to use the service,” he said.
Through the FVA Program, certificates of exemption will only be provided to residents who own affected firearms, have a valid firearms licence, are pursuing compensation, and follow all firearm storage laws.
At this time, certificates of value and exemptions would not be provided to estate holders, but Bevan said that it is a functionality they are currently working on that will be released at a later date.
The FVA is also drawing praise from police.
Patrick Nogier, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, and said that the real issue lies with guns involved in crime, not guns owned by law-abiding citizens.
“Let’s take a snapshot of what’s happening in Prince Albert in 2024 and 2025 — 220 crime guns were taken off the street. These are not guns that are part of this federal legislation. These are guns that are being used to have an impact in our communities, a negative impact in our communities. And it’s everything that we can do to stay on top of that,” he said.
Nogier is also head of the Prince Albert Police Service.
Read more:
