Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has responded to Justin Trudeau's plan to confiscate guns from law-abiding Canadians and send them to help Ukraine's military. "When I saw those things, I thought, this must be fake news," said Smith of Trudeau's announcement in a conversation with commentator Rachel Parker."Somebody must be making up some ridiculous tweet to put out there — and then, sure enough, it turned out to be true. I think probably some of the commentaries where they say if it does happen, and Ukrainians open up the crates, all they're going to see is a bunch of hunting rifles."Bill 24 — Alberta Bill of Rights Amendment Act, which guards the right to acquire, keep and use firearms in accordance with the law, received Royal Assent on December 5."(We are) reinforcing our commitment to standing up for lawful firearms owners in Alberta, and affirming government’s intent that provincial laws should not interfere with the right to own legally acquired firearms," said a government press release.Smith said Ottawa is mischaracterizing firearms (making them out to be something they are not). She said it's frustrating to observe Ottawa's missteps at a time when Canada should be building relationships with pro-gun Republicans."It's almost like the federal government is trying to antagonize on this issue, and I don't understand it," said Smith. "My position is the same today as it was when the first gun grab was announced. I believe they have now spent $70 million and they haven't confiscated a single gun. And I hope that continues. I hope they do not confiscate a single gun."The real issue for Smith is illegal cross-border trade. Prohibited guns are ending up in the hands of gangs and organized crime."That's what we should be going after," she said. "And that's what we announced in our border announcement, we're going to go after the criminal use of firearms, we're not going to go after law-abiding gun owners."The province recently announced that dozens of Alberta Sheriff's will be sent to patrol Alberta's southern border in a new effort to stop the movement of guns, migrants and drugs across the U.S. border.“We cannot take concerns about border security lightly," said Smith. "By establishing this new team of sheriffs at our southern border, we are actively working to address security concerns and stop the criminals whose activities are destroying lives on both sides of the border.”
