The Alberta government says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has failed to ensure the Canadian Firearms Program can handle the uptick in license and transfer applications amid soaring gun sales. .“The federal government has done Albertans, and all law-abiding firearms owners in Canada, a great disservice by instituting radical changes without adequately preparing the systems that support the administration of firearms for the predictable increase in workloads,” said Alberta justice minister and solicitor general Tyler Shandro in a Thursday press release. .Since the Canadian government introduced a law banning handgun sales across the country, there have been more purchases. .License and transfer applications are expected to go through the Canadian Firearms Program for initial review. The release said this program is being overwhelmed by new applications after this law was proposed. .It said the confusion created by this change has affected on firearms administration in Alberta. Wait times for federal processing of gun licences have gone from one to two months to four to six months. .According to the release, more complicated licence applications requiring a detailed review take 12 to 18 months. Alberta’s Chief Firearms Office has observed a 40% increase in email inquiries asking about the status of a gun licence application or transfer request..Alberta’s Chief Firearms Office has attempted to address this backlog and wait times by reworking its processes to handle transfer applications dealt with by the federal program. However, this office can perform this additional work on an intermittent basis because of staffing shortages. .“I can promise Albertans that everyone in my office is doing all they can to work diligently and expeditiously through the overwhelming increase in inquiries and applications that have been coming in,” said Alberta Chief Firearms Officer Teri Bryant. .“But there is only so much we can do without the full cooperation and preparedness of our federal counterparts.”.Bryant asked the Canadian government in May to delay or drop the proposed long gun registry. .READ MORE: Alberta chief firearms officer tells feds to abandon long gun registry.“Despite the federal government claiming Bill C-71 is important to our public safety, distressingly little has been done to prepare individuals, businesses or my staff,” said Bryant. .“Our office has been inundated with calls since news of the deadline emerged because Alberta firearms owners do not understand the changes and are concerned about the potential for a new backdoor long gun registry.”.Public Safety Canada could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
