Alberta asks feds not to use ‘scarce’ police resources to confiscate firearms

Alberta is voicing its opposition with Canada’s plan to use “scarce RCMP and municipal police resources” to seize thousands of firearms from Canadians.

Alberta is joined in its opposition to the plan by Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick.

The three Prairie provinces previously sent a letter to their respective RCMP divisions to indicate provincial funding should not be used for this purpose.

Last month the Alberta government announced it would not offer assistance to the federal government in the confiscation of 30,000 legally acquired firearms.

The federal Liberals say the RCMP will be deployed to confiscate firearms under the buyback program.

“Two years ago, the federal government said that using police resources would be ‘expensive and inefficient,’” Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said in a release. “Now the federal government has resorted to using police resources to seize firearms from Canadians.

“Make no mistake, the federal firearms confiscation program will cost us billions and will not improve public safety. Alberta’s government is not legally obligated to provide resources and will not do so.”

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The four provinces are also asking that funds from programs like the Guns and Gangs Violence Action Fund not be diverted for this purpose.

“Instead, funding should be used to fight the criminal misuse of firearms by tackling border integrity, smuggling and trafficking,” the Government of Alberta said in a release.

“While we fully support crime initiatives that focus on the issues related to the criminal use of illegal firearms, preventing and combating gang violence, and addressing the issue of illegal or smuggled guns in our province, we don’t support those that impact law-abiding hunters, sport shooters, ranchers, farmers and Indigenous people who use firearms for lawful and good reasons,” said Christine Tell, Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety for Saskatchewan, and Bronwyn Eyre, Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Saskatchewan.

—With files from Alejandro Melgar