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OTTAWA — Owners of banned firearms will have until the end of March to declare interest in a federal program offering compensation for turning in or permanently deactivating their guns.
The federal government says the declaration period will begin Monday and run through March 31.
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Since May 2020, Ottawa has outlawed about 2,500 types of guns on the basis they belong only on the battlefield.
Public Safety Canada says firearm licence holders will be notified of the declaration period and how to take part in the compensation program.
The government says compensation will be determined primarily on a first come, first served basis.
In the spring, owners whose declarations are approved will be invited to finalize their claims and schedule appointments to turn in their guns to the RCMP, local police or a mobile collection unit.
Prohibited firearms and devices must be disposed of — or permanently deactivated — by the end of an amnesty period on Oct. 30.
The government says anyone in possession of a banned firearm or device after the amnesty period will be breaking the law and could face criminal prosecution.
“The deadlines are real — please heed them,” Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree told a news conference Saturday in Montreal.
Federal officials said at a technical briefing that almost $250 million has been earmarked to compensate people who take part in the program by turning in their firearms or having them deactivated by a certified gunsmith.
The government anticipates the money will cover compensation for about 136,000 firearms.
Owners of banned guns who do not take part in the program can also comply with the law by deactivating their firearms at their own expense, turning them in to local police for no compensation or exporting them if they hold an export permit.
Saskatchewan pushes fair market value law
In November, the Saskatchewn government introduced legislation changes to help gun owners from losing money through the federal gun buyback program.
The proposed changes to the Saskatchewan Firearms Act say that a seized gun would need to be bought back at fair market value.
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 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 in November that the federal government and its officials had 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 from Gillian Massie and CJME News
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