Recording exposes Liberals’ gun confiscation scandal
Public Safety Minister says he doesn’t agree with his government’s own policy, but moves ahead with gun seizure scheme anyways
In leaked audio, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree dismissed concerns from a licensed gun owner who worried about being arrested if he refused to surrender firearms banned under the Liberal government’s gun confiscation program.
The audio, provided to True North by the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights, was recorded by a tenant in one of Anandasangaree’s rental properties. The minister initiated the conversation on the gun confiscation program, which he suggested will be launched on Tuesday.
Anandasangaree told the tenant that he had three options: deactivate the firearms, turn them in for compensation or do neither. The tenant asked the minister whether he would become a criminal if he refused to comply. Anandasangaree expressed doubt and added, “I just don’t think municipal police services have the resources to do this.”
When confronted by the tenant with the prospect of police raiding his home and handcuffing him, Anandasangaree suggested that he doesn’t think “it would go that far.”
“I’m going to refuse to hand them in. They’re going to come in and rip open my safe, right? Take those firearms and put me in handcuffs,” said the tenant.
“I doubt very much it’s going to go that far,” said Anandasangaree.
“Absolutely, it’s going to, Gary. Because you’ve given a mandate as the minister that these firearms are no longer allowed to be in these people’s possession,” replied the tenant.
According to the Criminal Code, illegal possession of a prohibited firearm can result up to five years in jail.
“I will come and bail you out if that happens. You call me,” said Anandasangaree.
However, when his tenant asked Anandasangaree if he would pardon his criminal record for disavowing the confiscation scheme, he said he doesn’t have the power to do that.
In the audio clip, Anandasangaree also appeared to struggle to explain the program, saying that he would have endorsed a “very different approach” if given a chance to start over.
He said that he was sticking to the program as it was because it was a campaign commitment, calling it a “big, big, big deal for many of the Quebec electorate that voted for us.”
While he admitted that he had the power to roll back the program, he said completing it was a mandate given to him by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Despite this, Anandasangaree reiterated his claims that the program was somehow “voluntary.”
In a statement issued Monday, Anandasangaree said the conversation had been recorded without his knowledge before being shared publicly. He claimed he was attempting to address the frustrations of someone he knew personally, adding that his comments were “misguided.”
“I make a point to speak with Canadians who do not support our approach, to listen to their concerns and ensure they understand their options in this voluntary buyback program,” he said. “Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows how seriously I take my job. No one should be mistaken about my unequivocal support for the program.”
As for police enforcing the confiscation program, Anandasangaree admitted that the Ontario Provincial Police would not be enforcing it. When his tenant alleged that the Toronto police had followed suit, he said they hadn’t committed one way or the other.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has repeatedly said that her province will use every power available to thwart the Liberals’ gun confiscation scheme and defend firearm rights for Albertans.
Anandasangaree’s tenant reminded him of when he was grilled by Conservative MP Andrew Lawton for not knowing basic details about his file, such as what a Restricted Possession and Acquisition Licence or the Canadian Firearms Safety Course is.
“I know a lot more. I’m not an expert on this,” the minister said in the recent audio clip.
The public safety minister claimed that the budget for the firearms confiscation scheme was capped at just under three-quarters of a billion dollars.
The program, introduced via Cabinet decree in 2020, eventually banned over 2,500 models of firearms, and costs are expected to reach nearly $2 billion.
However, the federal government has continuously extended the amnesty period as it has struggled to implement the program.
To date, after five years, the banned guns remain in the possession of their licensed owners who legally purchased the firearms.
When Anadasangaree was pressed about the vast majority of gun crimes in Canada being committed with illegal firearms, he did not dispute it.
“Don’t ask me to explain the logic to you on this,” he said.
“That’s my objective: just to put an end to this and move on with other additional criminal justice tools, including on bail, including on increasing penalties for people who have illegal and unlicensed firearms,” Anandasangaree added. “Going forward, it will be a different approach.”
When the tenant said that arresting them wouldn’t accomplish anything anyway, due to the Liberals’ catch-and-release policies with Bill C-75, Anadasangaree said they would be changed.
What an idiot. I think if he’s worried about the gun violence he’d be better to stop the smuggling of firearms used by criminals in crimes. Or is he afraid to disarm his comrades
People who own guns legally should not be told that they have to turn them in. The guns used to commit crimes are mostly brought across the border illegally. They are not registered so no-one knows who is in possession of those guns. Legal gun owners had to register their guns some years back. Those guns are not on the prohibited list and those owners should not be forced to turn them in. This is just another Liberal cash grab that will turn onto a huge useless expense for Canadian taxpayers.