Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.On Tuesday morning, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree will announce details about the Liberal government’s Firearms Confiscation Compensation Scheme, dubbed a “voluntary return” by Prime Minister Mark Carney.“This is not about confiscation. This is about voluntary return of firearms for compensation of these firearms,” he told Edmonton talk show host Ryan Jesperson.Then the real gaslighting began..HANNAFORD: Faith, forgiveness, and a gentle warning to our American friends .“We’re not confiscating guns. Anyone who says that, that is a mischaracterization.”You can’t have it both ways, Prime Minister.If licenced firearms owners will face criminal charges when they refuse to comply with your “voluntary return,” then it’s mandatory confiscation..Another extended amnesty period?The current amnesty period expires on October 30, 2025. Previous missed deadlines are April 30, 2022, and October 30, 2023.Minister Anandasangaree says the confiscation scheme will be completed “within a year of its start date.”That means the next extension will expire no later than December 31, 2026..EDITORIAL: King Carney’s Palestinian statehood decree is a dangerous reward for terrorism.Ottawa’s obsession and Ottawa’s blind spotHere’s the darker irony. While Ottawa obsesses over locking licenced citizens into a maze of storage, reporting, and eventual confiscation, Canada’s streets bleed from an entirely different source.Statistics Canada reports violent offences with firearms have surged 81% since 2009.In Toronto, over 85% of crime guns trace directly to US smuggling..Peel Police seized 220 illegal guns in 2024 — one every other day.CBSA hauls in caches of long guns, a handgun, ammunition, and gun parts.Saskatchewan and New Brunswick pile up seizures tied to drug networks..EDITORIAL: Ottawa’s overreach on the notwithstanding clause threatens provinces rights.Chief Bill Fordy of the Niagara Regional Police states, “The last set of data we had was that 90% of crime guns in Ontario where I police are from the United States.”The northern flow of illegal guns is relentless, yet Ottawa’s gaze stays fixed on rural gun safes, not gun smuggling pipelines..Punishing the law-abiding will never disarm the lawless.A multi-billion-dollar firearms confiscation compensation scheme is not public safety, it’s political theatre..HAUBRICH / SIMS: Saskatchewan and Alberta need to stop ignoring their budget problems.It diverts resources from the real challenge of stopping the traffickers, smugglers, and gang networks arming themselves with weapons untouched by gun bans or amnesty extensions.The next round of political theatre will take place today, and then we will know what that means for you and your legally-owned property.Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.
