Carney sows confusion, calls federal gun ban “voluntary”

In an interview Wednesday, PM Mark Carney argued the Liberal's gun confiscation scheme is "voluntary" and an "opportunity" for gun owners, leading to confusion

Prime Minister Mark Carney sowed confusion with years of Liberal messaging on firearms, claiming on Wednesday that the federal gun ban is a “voluntary” program and “not about confiscation.”

“This is not about confiscation. This is about voluntary return of firearms for compensation,” Carney said in an interview with Alberta podcast host Ryan Jespersen. “People aren’t going around confiscating guns. That is a mischaracterization. [It’s] an opportunity for Canadians to return guns for compensation.”

The statement stands in stark contrast to past federal messaging. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree recently said that enforcement of the gun ban was not voluntary.

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The misleadingly branded ‘buy back’ has historically been presented to Canadians as mandatory. The program, introduced via Cabinet decree in 2020, eventually banned over 2,500 models of firearms, with costs 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.

CEO of the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights (CCFR), Rod Giltaca, told True North he doubts Ottawa has shifted to a voluntary approach.

“I think it's more likely Carney has no idea what this program is in the first place, nor what the program is capable or incapable of achieving,” he said. “I don’t believe it will be optional. Maybe they’ll say ‘Keep your firearms, don’t get paid for them, but you’ll have to deactivate them (weld them shut)’ and therefore make them useless. Not really ‘optional.’”

Carney also claimed the ban does not affect hunting rifles or sporting firearms, although critics disagree.

“We are not talking about hunting rifles. We’re not talking sports shooting or anything like that. We’re talking about assault rifles,” said Carney.

Giltaca said this characterization was false.

“There were no ‘assault weapons’ banned since May 1, 2020. Every one of these firearms were for hunting and or sport shooting. That’s why they were legal in the first place,” said Giltaca. “The lies of these people are outrageous.”

The Vice President of Public Relations for the CCFR, Tracey Wilson, pondered to True North whether this could mean that the Liberals are re-embracing the original grandfathering option they had included in their 2020 ban announcement.

“The Liberals quickly abandoned this option under pressure from the Quebec gun control lobby, which threatened to pull their political support for the Liberals, and further rejected it mere weeks ago when we suggested it,” she said.

Without this change, she confirmed that the penalty for the illegal possession of a prohibited firearm is up to five years in jail.

“So it's not a ‘voluntary’ program, or ‘buy back’ as the Liberals and some in the media have happily called it. It is confiscation and seizure, under threat of imprisonment,” she said. “Carney has the gall to call it an ‘opportunity’ for licensed, law-abiding firearms owners to turn in their legally-purchased property?”

Firearms writer Tim Thurley responded on X, stating that the program as it stands currently is not in fact “voluntary.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has vowed to block the program, saying her government will not permit sheriffs or municipal police in the province to participate in any firearm confiscations.

Giltaca said that countermeasures implemented by provinces will “at best complicate” the federal rollout of the program.

“I also believe that the Feds don't care. They know the bans and this ‘buyback’ are simply the product of cold, cynical politics, but don't want to back down after Trudeau’s endless promises,” he said. “It's about abusing Canadians that are unlikely to vote for them and saving face in the eyes of the voters they've been gaslighting about firearm ownership. No matter how expensive this program is or how low participation ends up being, they and the legacy media will hail it as a complete success. And, the average urban Liberal voter won't notice a thing.

Toronto law enforcement said that 90 per cent of all guns seized in crimes can be traced to the U.S., with the remainder being too hard to trace. Very seldom do crimes involve legal firearms.

“I can’t think of a time when a legal gun has been used in a crime in this city, not one,” said Toronto Police Association President Clayton Campbell. “It’s not legal gun owners involved in crimes in the city of Toronto. It’s a small number of thugs”.

A spokesperson for Alberta’s Ministry of Justice told True North that Albertans and Canadians are “rightfully concerned” that the attack on law-abiding gun owners does not address the rise in gun crime under the Liberals’ tenure.

“We oppose any policy that undermines law-abiding firearm owners, including ineffective gun-buy back programs that do not combat criminal usage of firearms and is one of the federal Liberal government’s largest expenses on public safety, costing approximately $459.8 million over the next fiscal year alone,” they said. “Alberta’s government is exploring various options with provincial, territorial, and federal counterparts and external stakeholders to protect law-abiding firearms owners from federal overreach.”

A previous Leger poll found that 55 per cent of Canadians want Ottawa to crack down on firearms smuggling at the U.S. border instead of targeting licensed owners, while just 26 per cent supported buybacks.

Even Carney previously acknowledged that most guns used in violent crimes originate south of the border.

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