The Saskatchewan government, with the guidance and support of Firearms Commissioner Robert Freberg, has tabled amendments to the Saskatchewan Firearms Act that would force the Liberal federal government to properly and completely compensate affected firearms owners in their province if they push forward with the gun grab.

Scrapping the entire thing would be ideal, of course, but if they insist, they will be saddled with enormous costs and virtually impossible logistics, rendering it practically unmanagable.

Read the official media release from the Saskatchewan government HERE

Below is an op-ed written by Saskatchewan Firearms Commissioner Robert Freberg detailing the measures in the amendments and their intended consequences.

Ottawa: Focus on Public Safety and Follow Saskatchewan's Lead on Firearms
By Robert Freberg, Saskatchewan Firearms Commissioner

Across Canada there has been widespread and justified criticism of the federal
government’s announcement that it will begin implementing a mandatory buyback
program by seizing tens of thousands of rifles and shotguns owned by licensed Canadian gun owners. A long list of these guns, first banned by the federal government in May 2020, has now grown to 2,500 different models.

Saskatchewan opposes these nationwide firearms prohibitions because they will entail
substantial financial costs, divert scarce law enforcement resources, and be faced with
significant logistical challenges. We also believe that these measures will target lawabiding firearms owners rather than criminals.

Licensed and law-abiding gun owners are among the least likely of any portion of the
populace to commit a firearms-related crime in Canada. Spending money, estimated as
high as several billion dollars, to target licensed gun owners will have no measurable
impact on the criminal use of firearms, and is a poor investment of public funds.

In 2023, the government of Saskatchewan, under the leadership of Premier Scott Moe,
passed the Saskatchewan Firearms Act, to enhance public safety, promote compliance
with firearms laws and to establish a regulatory framework for the seizure, storage and
destruction or deactivation of firearms. This week, our government introduced
amendments to the Saskatchewan Firearms Act to respond to Ottawa moving forward on its national gun buyback program.

The amendments will hold the federal government accountable for providing fair
compensation to all affected Saskatchewan firearms owners. The federal government has stated that funding for its buyback program will be capped at $742 million and
compensation will be offered on a “first-come, first-served” basis. As a result, there are no guarantees of compensation when the cap is reached.

By refusing to provide appropriate compensation, the federal government has created a
potential incentive for firearms to be diverted from legal possession and sold illegally.
Saskatchewan's amendments will remove that incentive and ensure that lawful firearm
owners have the ability to obtain appropriate compensation for their lawfully owned
firearms.

To help ensure that Saskatchewan firearms owners receive fair compensation from the
federal government, the Saskatchewan Firearms Office (SFO) will soon launch an online
portal to provide appraisals for all firearms, ammunition and accessories that are impacted by federal legislation. Saskatchewan firearms owners will then be able to use the appraisals as evidence in Court to hold the federal government accountable for providing fair compensation to all those affected by their legislation.

Lawful firearms owners are not jeopardizing public safety and should not be criminalized
for having a firearms license and for owning legally obtained property. The thousands of
firearms banned by the federal government are not the ones being used in criminal
activities across Canada. The real concerns are firearms that have been smuggled in from the United States or those that have been illegally modified for use in gang and illegal drug activities.

Saskatchewan recently opened a provincial ballistics firearms lab to aid in the prosecution of those that commit crimes with firearms as well as the tracing of illegal firearms, and our government continues to invest heavily in law enforcement initiatives to keep the public safe. We are also the only province in Canada to have regulatory firearms offences that mirror the Criminal Code offences regarding firearms, which has resulted in many successful prosecutions and the use of alternative measures to change behaviours and increase compliance with firearms laws.

The amendments will also allow the SFO to store firearms on behalf of Saskatchewan
owners who wish to voluntarily turn in their firearms. This will ensure firearms owners do
not face potential criminal charges for possessing prohibited firearms while they pursue
compensation from the federal government.

Saskatchewan's Firearms Act will also be amended to specifically exempt medical
practitioners from liability for reporting concerns about their patients who have access to firearms. This will ensure that public safety concerns are reported without fear of being sued, which will allow for investigations in a robust and timely manner.

The government of Saskatchewan and I, as Firearms Commissioner, will continue to
advocate against Ottawa's buyback program because it is seriously flawed. We encourage the federal government to think of the public and their safety, by investing in initiatives to curb the use of illegal firearms and to prioritize spending that actually impacts crime and safety, such as policing, border security, and bail reform.

~Robert Freberg, SK Firearms Commissioner

Media inquiries may be sent to:

Rod Giltaca, CEO & Executive Director - CCFR - rod.giltaca@ccfr.ca

Tracey Wilson, VP Public Relations - CCFR - tracey.wilson@ccfr.ca

Robert Freberg, Saskatchewan Firearms Commissioner - robert.freberg@gov.sk.ca