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Terry-Jane Bryant wrote to the Federal Secretary of Public Safety that there was no evidence to justify the order to ban nearly 1,500 firearms.
Publication date:
April 16, 2022 • 13 hours ago • 4 minutes reading • 56 comments Canada bans possession of certain attack-style weapons, including the AR-15. Alberta’s chief firearms officer is questioning politics. Photo by UltraONEs / Getty Images / iStockphoto
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Alberta’s chief firearms officer has written a letter to the federal government urging them to lift the ban on “military-style” firearms and expand the amnesty program that allows owners to keep such firearms.
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Terry Jane Bryant wrote a letter to Federal Secretary of Public Safety Marco Mendicino earlier this week, saying no evidence had been provided to justify the order to ban nearly 1,500 firearms in Canada.
“As Alberta’s Chief Firearms Officer, I am firmly committed to making data-based decisions focused on public safety. “It is worrying that no evidence has been presented to justify the arbitrary choice of firearms on the list,” Bryant wrote. “Banning certain types of firearms is an approach that has proved ineffective in improving public safety.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has announced in 2020 that it will ban 1,500 firearms. The government later adjusted to focus on working with the provinces on the issue. The ban did not pass parliament before last year’s election, but the Liberals have vowed to move forward with similar promises.
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The Alberta government has repeatedly stated that it opposes the ban.
Bryant said the federal government should focus on other measures to ensure the safety of Canadians, such as the diligent prosecution of criminals and those who provide them with firearms.
“These taunts are the ones driving both rural crime and the alarming violence in our big cities. When properly administered, the Canadian Firearms Program now ensures that lawful firearms owners are carefully screened, regardless of the type of firearm they want to acquire, Bryant wrote.
Bryant has asked the federal government to extend the amnesty, which is currently scheduled to end in 2023, allowing licensed owners to continue holding their weapons before a mandatory buy-back program is introduced.
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Mendicino said the call to lift the national ban on AR-15 and other similar rifles was wrong and dangerous. He said they had been involved in some of the country’s worst mass shootings and served no purpose other than killing people.
“We will move forward by introducing safer weapons policies, including a mandatory buy-back program that will bring firearms in attack style from our communities,” Mendicino said. “While Jason Kenny wants to make the AR-15 legal again, we want to make sure that every Alberta and every Canadian can feel safe in their community.
Calgary is currently witnessing an increase in gun violence, with six of the city’s 10 killings in 2022 caused by gunfire. Calgary police said the overall shooting in the city was above average, with only 10 in March.
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Statistics from Canada shows that the number of people killed in Canada increased every year between 2018 and 2020, jumping to 277 out of 251. The shooting remains the number one cause of murder in Canada.
Doug King, a professor of justice at Mount Royal University, said the ban on firearms is unlikely to affect the growing number, as most crimes are committed by illegal gun owners who keep firearms smuggled across the border.
“The government’s ban on certain firearms, and now offensive-style firearms, is unlikely to have a real direct impact on community safety and crime levels, levels of violent crime and the like,” King said. “I think the bigger question is whether the federal government has provided some justification for why some (firearms) have been on the list and why others haven’t.” What were the criteria? “
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He said he was willing to agree with Bryant’s letter on these issues. However, he said there are elements of the mentality we have against them, which the Alberta government usually has when it comes to working with the federal government, which seems to be about political position, not public safety.
King noted that Alberta could also take steps to protect residents from gun violence, such as directing more funds to police agencies to detect illegal firearms.
“It would be really nice if we could just stop and think about what Alberta can do and what the municipalities can do,” King said.
As for the federal side of the issue, he said he would urge liberals to better fund law enforcement at land and port borders to stop more smuggled firearms, noting that such activities often come from organized crime.
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Mendicino said his government is investing more money in border services and the RCMP, while working closely with US law enforcement to stop the entry of illegal firearms into the country.
Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro announced earlier this week that he would accept the recommendations of a report by the Alberta Firearms Advisory Committee on “further protecting the rights of law-abiding firearms owners”.
“Our government continues to uphold its provincial jurisdiction and ensure that the rights of law-abiding gun owners are protected. “We thank the Alberta Firearms Advisory Committee for engaging the people of Alberta in their guidelines, as we give our firearms headquarters the right to support responsible firearms owners,” Shandro said in a press release.
These recommendations include education on firearms issues and stronger advocacy for evidence-based changes to the Firearms Act.
dshort@postmedia.com
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