Alberta cabinet ministers are blasting Ottawa’s national gun grab program as a waste of taxpayer dollars that unfairly targets law-abiding gun owners.Justice Minister Mickey Amery and Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis issued a joint statement Tuesday calling the Liberal government’s confiscation scheme “ineffective and expensive,” arguing it fails to address the rise in illegal gun crime.“This confiscation scheme is not about public safety,” the ministers said, noting the federal public safety minister has admitted police cannot properly enforce the program. They pointed to Ontario Provincial Police already refusing to carry it out and said the only reason the Liberals are keeping it alive is to appease voters in Quebec.Prime Minister Mark Carney recently described the program as a “voluntary return for compensation” during a Sept. 10 radio interview, claiming it would help reduce crime and make communities safer. But Alberta officials said leaked audio shows even federal cabinet ministers doubt it will be effective..Amery and Ellis emphasized that Alberta has already blocked municipalities from passing their own patchwork gun bylaws and prohibited anyone from seizing, storing or destroying firearms without approval from the province’s Chief Firearms Officer.“Simply put, Alberta’s government will not be enforcing this gun grab,” the ministers said. “We expect law enforcement to focus their time and resources on real provincial policing priorities — like violent criminals, not hunters and sport shooters.”They warned the buyback could cost more than $700 million and vowed to continue advocating for Alberta’s right to regulate legal firearm use for sport shooters and hunters.“The Liberal government should end this program, which will waste over $700 million and counting and directly attacks firearms owners, and instead prioritize measures that will actually keep Canadians safe,” the statement concluded.
