The federal government’s firearms ban and buyback program has so far cost $3.7 million, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), which noted that no guns have been bought back as yet.
As part of the program, the federal government created the Firearms Buyback Secretariat inside the Department of Public Safety in June 2020. The CTF says it has received a statement from the department showing that of the $3.7 million cost, $2.1 million has been spent on salaries, and $1.6 million on operations.
“The feds are spending millions of dollars before reimbursing a single gun owner, so it’s a good bet that this bill will keep ballooning,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the CTF, in a statement, adding that the program is going to be “another taxpayer boondoggle.”
In May 2020, the Liberal government announced new legislation to ban more than 1,500 models of firearms, including AR-15s. Firearm owners would have a two-year amnesty period to comply with the Order-in-Council, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time.
That amnesty period has been extended to October 2023, and the federal government is now seeking provincial aid to collect the guns. No firearms have been purchased so far and the prairie provinces are pushing back on Ottawa’s request for aid.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates reimbursing gun owners could cost up to $756 million, not including administrative or staffing costs.
The CTF said the department has refused to provide the total budget allocated to the office each year.
Terrazzano said the government should end “this ineffective and expensive policy.”
“The people protecting us say the gun ban and buyback won’t make Canadians safer, and taxpayers don’t need another government program that wastes our money.”
The National Police Federation, the union which represents the RCMP, said the federal gun ban and buyback will “do very little to address their goal to increase public safety.” The gun ban and buyback “diverts extremely important personnel, resources, and funding away from addressing the more immediate and growing threat of criminal use of illegal firearms,” the group said.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Department of Public Safety for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
The Liberal government has said its legislation is needed to fight violent crimes.“Because of gun violence, people are dying, families are grieving, and communities are suffering. It must end,” Trudeau said in May 2020 when announcing the legislation.
