Alberta Chief Firearms Officer Teri Bryant said the Liberal government needs to stop moving forward with its plans to go after gun sellers. .“They should not be forced to turn their stocks over to the federal government at massive expense to Canadian taxpayers,” said Bryant at a Wednesday press conference. .“We call on the federal government to reverse its punitive measures against the firearms community and allow businesses to sell their inventory to carefully-vetted Canadians for the sporting purposes they were made for and not the federal government for needless destruction.” .Bryant started off by saying from the outset, “it has been crystal clear that the federal government’s initiatives on firearms have had nothing to do with public safety.” She added a strong business sector is an important part to the firearms community and has provided thousands of jobs across Canada. .The chief firearms officer went on to say federal measures “have created threat after misguided threat to the livelihoods of these dedicated, hardworking business people and their employees.”.The Canadian government halted semi-automatic gun sales in 2020, requiring businesses to continue to finance products which they could not sell. Its handgun freeze and proposals to ban certain hunting rifles have prevented them from selling many products..Attacks on the firearms industry have forced members to give up shooting. .Bryant said the Canadian government moving forward with its gun grab is misguided. .The Canadian government announced an agreement with the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association to start a program to take back banned firearms on Wednesday. .READ MORE: First phase of Trudeau’s gun grab announced.“The successful implementation of this program is no small feat, and we appreciate the expertise of the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association,” said Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino. .The first phase of this program is scheduled to start later this year and will concentrate on businesses which sell banned firearms..Bryant said she will be speaking with Public Safety Canada on Thursday to find out more details about the gun grab. Until she knows what it plans to do, she said it is tough to determine how to respond. .She concluded by saying the ball is in the Liberals' court to tell people what it plans to do. .“My personal belief is they don’t know,” she said. .Bryant said in November it was wrong for the Canadian government to expand the list of banned guns in Bill C-21. .READ MORE: WATCH: Alberta chief firearms officer denounces amendment to Bill C-21.“Adding amendments of this sweeping nature near the end of scrutiny by the House of Commons is not how Parliament is supposed to work,” she said. .“It suggests the federal government has not been entirely forthcoming about its true intentions all along.”
