Proposed legislation recently introduced in the province takes aim at federal gun laws, but details remain scarce
A sweeping proposed new law in Alberta is being billed as a way to determine how federal gun laws will be enforced in the province.
The exact manner and timelines for much of the bill have yet to be determined.
“Once passed, the Alberta Firearms Act will be the most comprehensive provincial firearms framework in the country and enable Alberta to create a regulatory framework to protect the provincial jurisdiction of the province and the rights of law-abiding firearms owners,” said Justice Minister Tyler Shandro.
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Bill 8, the Alberta Firearms Act, will fully establish the role of the chief firearms officer if passed.
The bill is also being touted as a tool to determine who will be able to seize firearms banned by the federal government through establishment of licensing requirements of seizing agents. It also seeks to establish fair compensation amounts for such guns.
The bill also wields a big stick against municipalities and their police services by limiting their ability to enter into funding agreements with the federal government if they don’t follow the proposed new Alberta laws.
But the proposed legislation doesn’t define such regulations and won’t immediately be developed, according to Shandro.
“For example, the seizure and confiscation of firearms. Because of this legislation, Alberta could create a regulation regarding who in this province can take part in this,” he said during a media availability on the bill. “Regulations could also be developed to prevent municipalities and municipal police services from entering into funding agreements with the federal government.”
That provision is aimed at restricting federal funding for taking part in a program to reclaim guns and it is not an effort to defund police, said Shandro.
“The province and municipalities will continue to fund the municipal police services — all seven of them — the same way that they have in the past,” he said.
According to the bill, the Alberta government will establish regulations governing a range of licensing requirements for firearms, along with how much compensation will be required through a government buyback program.
Shandro highlighted numerous businesses that are connected to selling firearms and shooting ranges and their customers.
“These businesses and individuals deserve clarity, they deserve accountability and advocacy to protect their property rights and that is what this legislation aims to do,” he said.
Shandro said there currently isn’t any clarity regarding the federal gun confiscation program and the province is opposed to the proposals in Ottawa’s Bill C-21, which is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Public Safety and National Security.
Pressed on the lack of details in the Alberta proposal, Shandro said it’s designed to be “nimble” in responding to the federal government’s anticipated programs.
“That’s important because we don’t have any details yet. And I think that’s why our approach to this framework is different than Saskatchewan’s is because we don’t have any details from the federal government yet,” he said.
The federal government has extended its amnesty period for a range of guns that were banned in May 2020 until October.
