Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said Monday he would push back against the Liberal's plans, including by directing the RCMP in the province not to enforce the new legislation
OTTAWA – Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said his government will go ahead with plans for a gun buyback program, over the objections of Alberta’s justice minister who has called on police in his province, including the RCMP, not to take part in the effort.
Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro announced Monday he would push back against the Liberal’s plans, including by directing the RCMP in the province not to enforce the new legislation. He said there are much more important issues to address right now.
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“It’s important to remember that Alberta taxpayers pay over $750 million per year for the RCMP and we will not tolerate taking officers off the streets in order to confiscate the property of law-abiding firearms owners.”
Mendicino wrote to Shandro last month asking for assistance implementing the government’s proposed buyback program, which aims to take what the Liberals call “assault style” firearms off the street. Mendicino said Shandro simply can’t ignore a federal law because he doesn’t agree with it.
“To simply issue a letter saying we’re going to resist, we’re not going to cooperate with the federal government is wrong,” he said. “It’s an abdication of responsibility. It’s an abdication, because it suggests that any province has the ability to opt out of a federal law when it relates to firearms.”
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The Liberals used an order-in-council to reclassify the weapons as prohibited and beginning this fall will be offering what they have determined is a fair market rate for the guns.
Shandro announced the Alberta government would also join legal challenges against the federal government’s gun legislation that have been working through the courts.
The Liberals program aims to buyback 1,500 models of firearms the government has described as “assault style.” Mendicino said regulating firearms is squarely in the purview of the federal government and Shandro should work with the Liberals on the program instead of fighting them.
“The courts have repeatedly held this is an issue that falls within the jurisdiction of the federal government. And therefore it is our hope and our expectation that we will work collaboratively with all provinces and territories.”
He said he has no doubts police forces across Alberta will take part in the program.
“We would expect that any law on the books will be enforced, by law enforcement.”
While run by the federal government, the RCMP in Alberta act as the province’s police force outside major centres and the provincial government covers 70 per cent of the costs of the force.
Shandro said the contract the province has with the RCMP allows them to object when RCMP resources are being used for laws the province doesn’t support and they are invoking that provision of the contract.
Shandro said the RCMP’s senior officer in Alberta doesn’t support using his officers but an RCMP spokesperson would not confirm this when reached on Wednesday.
Shandro argued the Liberals entire gun control agenda is driven by politics instead of any real public safety need and Alberta won’t help with that effort.
“While the federal government has labeled them as, in their words, ’assault style,’ that’s a label designed to scare Canadians who are unfamiliar with firearms. It’s a description based purely on their appearance,” he said. “This is politically motivated, confiscation, pure and simple. One that will do nothing to make Alberta a safer place.”
The Liberals brought in the new rules shortly after the deadly Nova Scotia shooting. Mendicino defended the buyback program, arguing it specifically targets weapons that were used in deadly shootings like in Nova Scotia, but also the Quebec City mosque shooting, Polytechnique massacre in Montreal and the Danforth shooting in Toronto.
“Assault style rifles are not used for hunting. They’re used and were designed to exert the most amount of lethal force in the shortest period of time.”
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