Saskatchewan shields firearm owners following Cape Breton $7,000 per gun disaster

Saskatchewan is introducing legislation to protect firearms owners from financial loss under Ottawa’s gun confiscation program

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Saskatchewan is introducing legislation to protect firearms owners from financial loss under Ottawa’s gun confiscation program, coinciding with new disclosures revealing the Cape Breton pilot is costing taxpayers nearly $7,000 per firearm.

In a Tuesday news release, the Saskatchewan government said the changes to the Saskatchewan Firearms Act are designed to ensure the federal government—not gun owners—absorbs the financial fallout of its program, which provinces, law enforcement agencies, and firearm owners across Canada have widely rejected.

Even Saskatchewan’s provincial government said it “continues to advocate for alternatives to the federal buyback program.”

“However, the amendments to the Saskatchewan Firearms Act will help ensure those impacted by the federal government’s decisions can receive fair market value for their property,” reads the press release.

Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod said the federal program remains fundamentally broken.

“Rather than targeting law-abiding firearms owners, we believe our approach of providing law enforcement with the tools and expertise they need to secure and protect Saskatchewan communities from illegal firearms is a more effective firearms safety measure,” he said.

Under the proposed amendments, any firearm deemed “seized” due to federal prohibitions must be compensated at fair market value, as determined by the Saskatchewan Firearms Commissioner. The province again emphasized that Ottawa intends to run its buyback on a “first-come, first-served” basis despite capping the program at $742 million with “no guarantees of compensation once the funding cap is reached.”

True North previously reported that the Liberals planned to spend more on their firearm confiscation next year than on NATO operations and border enforcement combined.

After extending the firearm amnesty for the third time in five years, a month after the Liberals rolled out their buyback program in Cape Breton, Tracey Wilson, vice-president of public relations for the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, told True North the extension sends a clear message to gun owners from the Liberals: that they should “keep their guns and face no consequences for as long as possible.”

“Perhaps another election will happen in the meantime, and Carney will use the gun grab for election fodder for more gullible voters and loud anti-gun lobbyists,” she said.

Thanks to the amnesty being extended, firearm owners really do have the voluntary option to hand over their legally purchased firearms.

True North previously exposed Public Safety Minister Gary Anadasangaree for claiming that the gun grab was “always voluntary.”

However, if the amnesty were to conclude, the penalty for illegally possessing a prohibited firearm is up to five years in jail.

Most Cape Breton firearm owners did not take the chance to hand over their firearms voluntarily. As for the 22 firearms that were collected, those cost taxpayers nearly $7,000 per firearm.

The calculations, done by Rebel News, included the logistics funding of collection, verification, storage, and shipment. However, the calculations did not include cost overruns, destruction costs, federal administration expenses, national rollout expenses, or the amnesty extension.

Saskatchewan Firearms Office Commissioner Robert Freberg said residents are being put in an impossible position.

“Lawful firearms owners are not causing public safety concerns in our communities. The firearms affected by the federal government’s reclassification, which are currently legally owned by individuals and businesses, are rarely used in criminal activities across Canada,” he said. “The real concerns are firearms that have been smuggled in from the United States or those that have been illegally modified for use in gang and illegal drug activities.”

The province also confirmed Ottawa has not even applied for the required status to seize firearms in Saskatchewan, leaving owners unable to comply with federal rules without risking criminal liability. The amendments will allow the SFO to store firearms for owners until fair compensation is secured.

The province continues to call on Ottawa to abandon the buyback entirely and instead target illegal firearms trafficking and violent repeat offenders — the same approach now endorsed by multiple provinces and police leaders nationwide.