Northern Ontario gun dealers say details on federal buyback program are thin

Gun owners in northern Ontario hoping to hear more about the federal government's buyback program will continue to wait. 

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced several new rules and regulations as part of Bill C-21, including a provision to allow municipalities to ban handguns, and increase criminal penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking.

If passed, the bill would also create "red flag" and "yellow flag" laws which would allow individuals — such as concerned friends or relatives — to apply to a court for the immediate removal of someone's firearm.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said these laws could be used in cases of domestic violence and concerns about mental health.

But nothing in the announcement fleshes out the details on the proposed restricted firearms buyback program, and what options owners of the 1,500 plus models on the federal prohibited list have when the program finally rolls out. 

Senior officials in the Ministry of Public Safety said they are consulting with outside experts, and that more details will be released as the program design advances. During the 2019 election, Liberals said the program would unroll sometime in 2021, with an estimated cost of between $400 and $600 million. 

But Reg Perry, owner of Perry's Great Northern Gun and Bow Shop in Sault Ste. Marie, said the government hasn't even hinted at what shop owners can expect, especially those who are sitting on inventory that was recently added to the list. 

"I realize you want to try and get everybody to turn [the weapons] in as opposed to keeping them," Perry said. "But you're not being candid with us as to how this whole thing is going to work and how we're going to be compensated."

"You know, they still haven't said 'you're going to get a cheque or you're going to give me a tax deduction."

"They've been very, very short on details."

Perry added that he thinks gun owners aren't being given a fair shake, and the government isn't leaving owners with many options for how to keep firearms now on the list.

The new regulations state that owners of prohibited weapons can either turn them in for the buyback, or keep them under a "non permissive storage possession regime."

That would allow legal owners to keep prohibited weapons, but they would be subject to strict conditions, for example, owners would not be able to sell, bequeath, import or even use the firearms. 

"You're telling me that if I really, really want to, I can keep this stuff, except that you've made it worthless," Perry said. "I can't shoot it. I can't use it. I'm under all sorts of scrutiny for storing it."

"My children can't inherit it. I can't shoot it at a club or go hunting with it or do anything. So you have taken all the value out of it. And it basically amounts to confiscation of all of its value."