Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.The Liberal government created the problem. Saskatchewan built the shield.That is the clearest way to understand the province’s Firearms Verification and Appraisal Service (FVA), now operating under the Saskatchewan Firearms Amendment Act, 2026.Saskatchewan firearms owners and businesses can apply for certificates of value and certificates of exemption for lawfully owned property captured by the May 1, 2020, Order in Council and subsequent firearms prohibitions.The program, administered by the Saskatchewan Firearms Office, is designed to help protect lawful owners while they pursue fair compensation from the federal government.The amnesty period ends on October 30, 2026.After that, affected owners who remain in possession of newly prohibited firearms may face criminal liability unless they are protected by a valid legal exemption or another lawful path.This is the absurd position the federal government has put licenced, vetted Canadian gun owners in.Saskatchewan’s FVA Service verifies affected property, issues certificates of value, and provides eligible applicants with certificates of exemption."Farmers, hunters, and sport-shooting enthusiasts are being forced to either accept little or no compensation, or they must deactivate or destroy their legally purchased property at a loss to avoid facing criminal charges," said Tim McLeod, Saskatchewan Justice Minister and Attorney General.Those exemptions are issued in accordance with section 117.08 of the Criminal Code, which allows certain people acting under government authority to possess firearms in circumstances that would otherwise be prohibited..But the protection is not automatic.Certificates of exemption are available only to eligible PAL or RPAL holders in good standing who are pursuing compensation from the federal government and following all applicable firearms storage laws.Failure to meet those requirements makes the certificate inoperable.That distinction matters.Saskatchewan is not creating a loophole for criminals. It’s creating a conditional legal shield for lawful owners who continue to follow the rules while Ottawa attempts to take their property."Saskatchewan residents do not support the federal government's gun grab program and know that it will do nothing to enhance community safety," Saskatchewan Firearms Office Commissioner Blaine Beaven said.In practical terms, Saskatchewan says that if Ottawa insists on turning lawful property into prohibited property, it won’t help turn lawful citizens into criminals.That is a serious policy choice supported by Saskatchewan chiefs of police."This service and legislative framework reflects a practical approach to supporting lawful firearms ownership,” said Patrick Nogier, President of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, “while allowing police services to concentrate on identifying and addressing the individuals and firearms most often associated with criminal activity in our communities."That’s the distinction this Liberal government refuses to make..Criminals don’t apply for firearms licences or provincial appraisals.Gang members don’t wait for certificates of value.Gun smugglers don’t log into a Saskatchewan account to clarify the status of their illegal inventory.Repeat violent offenders don’t need help navigating a compensation toolkit.Licenced owners, however, are not difficult to find. They are already known to the system through records maintained by the Canadian Firearms Program.That makes them an administratively convenient target, not a public safety threat.That’s the issue.Every time the government claims its firearms policy is aimed at criminals, the legislation and regulations tell a very different story.The forms, deadlines, legal uncertainty, compensation disputes, storage questions, border limits, and prosecution risk land on the people trying to obey the law: Canada’s licenced firearms owners.Saskatchewan is building a shield, but licenced gun owners still have to carry that shield through a scheme created by the federal government..That’s the real-world consequence of Liberal firearms policy.If the government wants to confiscate lawfully acquired property, it should be required to identify the affected property, value it fairly, and compensate the owner promptly, not hide behind political slogans, inadequate compensation, and administrative confusion.No provincial workaround can fully repair a federal policy built on the wrong premise.Saskatchewan’s response is a serious attempt to protect lawful citizens from being crushed between Ottawa’s confiscation agenda and the Criminal Code.Saskatchewan exposed what the Liberal government’s policy tries hard to conceal.The issue is not whether law-abiding firearms owners are willing to comply.They have complied for decades.If Ottawa wants to protect Canadians, it should stop chasing the compliant and start confronting the dangerous.Licenced firearms owners are not the threat.They are proof that the Liberal government chose the wrong target. Again.Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.
