After years of new restrictions and federal gun confiscation schemes, provinces across the country are finally starting to stand up to the federal government. Alberta and Saskatchewan are two of the most gun-obsessed provinces in the country, and they are standing up for their gun rights.
00:01:47.800Well, it means that since the federal government first introduced this confiscation scheme,
00:01:53.220we've been absolutely and unequivocally clear.
00:01:56.460We will oppose any policy that undermines law-abiding firearms owners,
00:02:00.820including ineffective and extremely expensive buyback programs
00:02:05.420that don't actually speak to the root cause of the problem.
00:02:09.640What should they expect, though, firearms owners in your province when that amnesty period is over?
00:02:14.360Do you think that police in Alberta will be looking for folks that have these now prohibited firearms and charging them with federal crimes?
00:02:23.020Because that is what the law states. Is that something that people in your province should be prepared for?
00:02:28.740Well, look, we've said that we will not cooperate with the confiscation scheme.
00:02:33.140We will not participate in any federal programs that create criminals out of law-abiding Albertans.
00:02:39.000And so in response to that, we've prevented our municipalities in Alberta from crafting piecemeal arbitrary firearms legislation.
00:02:47.960We've notified our policing agencies that enforcement of this gun grab is not a priority for our police detachments,
00:02:54.400that they need to be focusing on criminals and illegal activity.
00:02:58.400We've also provided guidelines to our Crown prosecutors that prosecuting these charges stemming from this scheme is of low priority,
00:03:05.420And we've developed regulations making it absolutely clear that anyone looking to act as a confiscation agent for the federal government must obtain a provincial license or be in breach of provincial laws.
00:03:21.120We stand by our law-abiding gun owners and we'll do everything that we can to make sure that honest Albertans are not made into criminals by illogical and politically motivated policies.
00:03:32.300Alberta and Saskatchewan seem to be arming up, and the rest of Canada is finally starting to notice.
00:03:38.460Across the prairies, gun sales are climbing very quickly, and applications for gun licenses are higher than they've been for a very long time.
00:03:47.560The RCMP's most recent report shows over 360,000 licensed gun owners in Alberta alone, and nearly 120,000 in Saskatchewan,
00:03:56.300giving both of these provinces some of the highest per capita ownership rates in the entire country.
00:04:02.300No one is going to take the guns away in Saskatchewan, and I think largely you're going to see that across Canada.
00:04:07.540However, if there's still a federal law on the books, if they decide to continue down this path,
00:04:12.520which we encourage them to have another look at, and I think 9 out of 10 provinces would have the same encouragement.
00:04:18.360They're going to say that your firearm's illegal, they're not coming to get it, but it's now worthless.
00:04:23.440So what we've said is they have to provide fair market value,
00:04:27.520And until they do, you can continue to store your own firearm if you are storing it in an appropriate way, in a safe and secure way.
00:04:36.720And by doing that, you're doing that for the benefit of the province so that we don't have to do it on your behalf.
00:04:41.880And that's where the exemption under Section 117 of the Criminal Code comes in.
00:04:45.760You're exempt from prosecution if the federal government has declared your firearm illegal,
00:04:50.480if you are doing us the benefit of continuing to store that firearm securely.
00:04:55.640Provincial governments of these provinces remain defiant against gun confiscations.
00:05:01.260They're refusing to go after law-abiding gun owners.