Alberta Justice Minister says Feds planning to use RCMP to confiscate firearms starting in PEI

Federal confiscation program: Minister Shandro

Minister of Justice Tyler Shandro issued the following statement on the federal firearms confiscation program:

“Last week, Minister Mendicino admitted that the federal government has still not figured out how to implement their firearms confiscation program.

“This admission comes shortly after the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police called on the federal government to not to use police services to confiscate firearms.

“Now, media reports have drawn attention to a federal government memo that outlines Minister Mendicino’s plans to confiscate firearms across Canada.

“The memo admits that efforts to find private sector companies to implement the federal firearms confiscation program failed this summer.

“With no private sector companies willing to participate, the memo outlines how the RCMP will first be deployed to Prince Edward Island (PEI), which has been deemed to be an easy ‘low-risk’ target.

“The federal government is treating PEI as a ‘pilot’ that will help them learn on the job as they implement their confiscation plan through trial and error.

“This ‘program’ is expected to cost a billion dollars or more and has supposedly been in the works for three years.

“Despite a mountain of money and years worth of lead time, Ottawa appears to be lost – especially given their latest attack on hunting rifles and shotguns – at minimum, they should proactively extend the amnesty that is currently scheduled to end in October 2023.

“Such a decision, however, would involve showing Canadian firearms owners a measure of decency, something that Minister Mendicino and this federal government is seemingly incapable of.”

—–

Public Safety Canada’s Buyback Program

Overview

The Government of Canada committed to implementing a mandatory buyback program so that the assault-style firearms that became prohibited on May 1, 2020 are safely removed from our communities. Public Services and Procurement Canada’s role is to provide procurement services to Public Safety Canada (PS) to support their implementation of the buyback program.

Mandate

As of May 1, 2020, the Government of Canada has prohibited over 1,500 models of assault-style firearms (ASFs) and certain components of some newly-prohibited firearms. New maximum thresholds for muzzle energy and bore diameter are also in place. Any firearm that exceeds these is now prohibited. A Criminal Code amnesty period is currently in effect to October 30, 2023. The amnesty is designed to protect individuals or businesses who, at the time the prohibition came into force, were in lawful possession of a newly prohibited firearm from criminal liability while they take steps to comply with the law.

The primary intent of the buyback program would be to safely buyback these now prohibited firearms from society, while offering fair compensation to businesses and lawful owners impacted by the prohibition. PSPC is currently examining options for implementation of the buyback program, including the potential of contracting out specific activities.

Key activities

The program approach currently being considered by PS senior management envisages 2 phases, with a pilot in the first phase that would inform the national roll-out of the program:

phase 1: commence in December 2022 and conclude at the end of the amnesty period. Primarily led by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with support from PS and other government departments. Prince Edward Island (PE) will be used as a pilot and will be the first point of collection based on the smaller number of firearms. As a result, lessons learned, gaps analysis and risk assessment would inform the phase 2 national roll-out
phase 2: national roll-out is planned for spring 2023 once an information management/information technology (IM/IT) case management system is in place. It will be implemented in collaboration with other government departments, provincial, municipal and territorial governments and potential Industry partners

Public Services and Procurement posted a request for information on July 14, 2022 seeking feedback from industry on potential capacities to support delivery of the buyback program. It closed on August 31, 2022 and with very limited interest from the industry.

Partners and stakeholders

The program owner is Public Safety Canada. They are responsible for the buyback planning and oversight.

Public Services and Procurement Canada has been supporting PS with the buyback program since August 2021 supporting the development of procurement strategies for the delivery of the various potential requirements such as:

collection and transportation
professional services
tracking
storage solutions
package inspection
destruction
post-destruction recycling

Shared Services Canada will assist with procurement of information technology (IT) solutions and other required IT support, based on its mandate.

The RCMP will start collection of ASFs in December 2022. They are also supporting the buyback program by providing a high level process map or written description of the programmatic phases.

Employment and Social Development Canada may support the buyback program with call-centres and payment solutions for the compensation.

Provincial, municipal and territorial governments are also being engaged to support the implementation and program delivery.

Key considerations

The prohibition applies to all current and future firearm variants that meet the criteria—now, over 1,800 firearms. These firearms can no longer be legally used, sold, or imported.

Currently owners have the option to dispose of their firearm by surrendering it to police, deactivating through an approved business or exporting the firearm with a valid export permit, all without government compensation. The buyback program aims to offer fair compensation to affected owners and businesses.

Work at the officials level is ongoing to develop, design and engage on the program. This includes public consultations on the government’s price list, which was posted on July 28, 2022 on Public Safety’s website and would be used to establish compensation levels for affected firearms.

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Official statement from Premier Danielle Smith and Energy Minister Brian Jean on the start-up of the Trans Mountain Pipeline

Published on May 1, 2024

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Alberta is celebrating an important achievement for the energy industry – the start-up of the twinned Trans Mountain pipeline. It’s great news Albertans and Canadians as this will welcome a new era of prosperity and economic growth. The completion of TMX is monumental for Alberta, since this will significantly increase our province’s output. It will triple the capacity of the original pipeline to now carry 890,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia’s Pacific Coast.

We are excited that Canada’s biggest and newest oil pipeline in more than a decade, can now bring oil from Edmonton to tide water in B.C. This will allow us to get our energy resources to Pacific markets, including Washington State and California, and Asian markets like Japan, South Korea, China, and India. Alberta now has new energy customers and tankers with Alberta oil will be unloading in China and India in the next few months.

For Alberta this is a game-changer, the world needs more reliably and sustainably sourced Alberta energy, not less. World demand for oil and gas resources will continue in the decades ahead and the new pipeline expansion will give us the opportunity to meet global energy demands and increase North American and global energy security and help remove the issues of energy poverty in other parts of the world.

Analysts are predicting the price differential on Canadian crude oil will narrow resulting in many millions of extra government revenues, which will help fund important programs like health, education, and social services – the things Albertans rely on. TMX will also result in billions of dollars of economic prosperity for Albertans, Indigenous communities and Canadians and create well-paying jobs throughout Canada.

Our province wants to congratulate the Trans Mountain Corporation for its tenacity to have completed this long awaited and much needed energy infrastructure, and to thank the more than 30,000 dedicated, skilled workers whose efforts made this extraordinary project a reality. The province also wants to thank the Federal Government for seeing this project through. This is a great example of an area where the provincial and federal government can cooperate and work together for the benefit of Albertans and all Canadians.

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Protecting the right to vote for Canadian citizens: Minister McIver

Published on May 1, 2024

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Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver issued the following statement in response to Calgary City Council’s vote to extend the right to vote to permanent residents:

“Yesterday, Calgary city council passed a motion advocating for permanent residents to be extended the right to vote in civic elections. Alberta’s government has been clear since the beginning: only Canadian citizens are able to vote in civic elections. That will not be changing.

“The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms affirms the right of every Canadian citizen to vote and to run as a candidate. This right extends to voters in municipal, provincial and federal elections.

“Protecting our democracy is of the utmost importance. Our provincial election legislation, like the Local Authorities Elections Act, has also been clear since its inception that voting is a right of Canadian citizens.

“Alberta’s government is also ensuring that voting is accessible for more Albertans. The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act proposes to enable special ballot access for any voter who requests it, without having to provide any specific reason such as physical disability, absence from the municipality or working for the municipal election. The ministries of Seniors, Community and Social Services and Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction are also making it easier for individuals to obtain the identification Albertans need for a variety of services, including the ability to cast a ballot.

“Our government will continue to protect the integrity of our elections and make sure voting is accessible for all Albertans who are Canadian citizens.”