The federal government has signed a contract with the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association to help kickstart a planned buyback of banned firearms as it continues to rework some controversial gun control amendments.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino made the announcement Wednesday morning, in what Ottawa is touting as a “significant step” towards the launch of the Firearms Buyback Program.
The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA), which represents the hunting and sport shooting industry in Canada, will work in collaboration with Public Safety Canada and retailers.
The first phase of the program set to begin later this year will focus on businesses with banned firearms in their possession, according to a government statement.
The CSAAA will help identify the number and types of banned firearms that are held by businesses and try to “streamline” the buyback process, the statement said.
The second phase, which will come later but with no clear timeline yet, will focus on individual gun owners and will not involve the CSAAA.
The Liberal government banned some 1,500 models and variants of firearms, including the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14, through an order-in-council in May 2020.
The proposed buyback program would require owners to either sell these firearms to the government or have them rendered inoperable at federal expense.
“The successful implementation of this program is no small feat, and we appreciate the expertise of the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association,” said Mendicino in a statement.
“This is the first step towards getting assault-style firearms out of our communities,” he added.
In February, the federal government withdrew an amendment to the federal bill that would have spelled out in law the various models covered by a ban on assault-style guns.
Automatic firearms are already prohibited in Canada.
The Liberals had touted the definition as an evergreen measure that would cement in legislation a May 2020 regulatory ban of some 1,500 firearm models and variants, as well as several others flagged since then.
The government pulled the measures from consideration after weeks of criticism from Conservative MPs and some firearm advocates who said the definition would ban many commonly used hunting rifles and shotguns.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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