Federal government's gun buyback program moves closer to start

Photo: Jonathan Hayward The Canadian Press A man holds an AR-15 automatic weapon

David Baxter – The Canadian Press in Ottawa

Posted at 8:38 AM Updated at 11:14 AM

• Canada

The federal government is giving Canada Post the ability to store and transport restricted firearms under new regulations that bring the retail gun buyback program closer to its start.

An order in council dated Oct. 16 allows restricted assault-style firearms to be removed from safes, transported and destroyed.

More than 1,500 firearm models were restricted in May 2020 after a shooting in Nova Scotia left 23 people dead, including the shooter.

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Since then, retailers who own the now-prohibited weapons have been required to keep them safely in their inventory.

“Once the program launches, updated shipping regulations will make affected firearms and devices material and temporarily allow businesses participating in the program to ship firearms or devices through the mail,” said Gabriel Brunet, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, in a statement Friday.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc had previously said the long-promised buyback program would begin this fall.

First, the government will purchase restricted firearms from retail stores and have them destroyed, before a buyback program for individuals who own restricted weapons begins next year.

In a statement, Canada Post said it is willing to participate in the first phase of the buyback program because retailers are already familiar with the strict rules required to ship firearms safely.

The Crown corporation maintains it will not participate in the second phase of the buyback program, which involves individual firearm owners, due to concerns about employee safety.

The Criminal Code amnesty for possession of assault-style restricted firearms has been extended twice so far and is now set to expire on October 30, 2025.

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