REGINA — Saskatchewan’s lone Liberal MP is defending the federal government’s gun buyback program, saying it is about removing military-style assault weapons from the streets.
Buckley Belanger, MP for Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River and federal Secretary of State for Rural Development, was asked about the buyback program during a media scrum in Regina on Monday. He said he believes law-abiding gun owners are fine with removing military-style weapons from circulation.
“I can tell you right now that there are 2.4 million gun owners throughout our country that are legally licensed. They follow all the rules,” Belanger said.
“Every effort that we're undertaking is to remove military-style weapons from our streets. The gun buyback program serves its role in that effort. But the bottom line is that 2.4 million gun owners in this country, they all follow the rules.
“They hunt safely, they hunt responsibly, and we're in constant contact. They themselves would agree that getting military-style assault weapons off our streets is something that we should always be cognizant of and the danger it poses to the general public. So this is all about removing those weapons.”
His comments came on the same day the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program opened to all eligible firearms owners on Monday, Jan. 19.
Eligible firearms owners have until March 31 to submit a declaration through the online portal or by mail. Declarations will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis, aligned with the availability of funds. The declaration period runs from Jan. 19 to March 31. Regardless of whether they participate in the compensation program, all owners must dispose of or permanently deactivate their prohibited firearms before Oct. 30. Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree said on the weekend that while participation is voluntary, “abiding by the law is not."
While the buyback program is underway, most provinces, including Saskatchewan, have not signed on to administer it. Various provinces have expressed concerns that the federal program is flawed and not well run.
