Alberta’s Justice Minister says Ottawa has made a mistake in its decision to make over 1,500 types of firearms illegal.
Doug Schweitzer tells the Trending 55 Newsroom that he, along with his counterparts in other provinces and territories suggested the feds tread lightly in making rules around guns.
“Consult broadly, do it slowly and be methodical about this, and they completely ignored all of our advice,” says Schweitzer.
Schweitzer feels this legislation was passed too quickly.
“One day, you are a law-abiding citizen and the next day, you are completely against the law of Canada if you own that firearm without any real consultation.”
Schweitzer also said Ottawa’s plan to buy the newly illegal guns would cost the feds upwards of $1 billion and referred to the whole legislation as “bad policy.”
The Justice Minister and Solicitor General also feels the government needs to crack down on illegal guns being smuggled into Canada.
“They should be cracking down on the borders,” recommends Schweitzer. “80 percent of the guns are imported illegally through the United States and they get brought into our country. Organized crime is behind this, they are using these weapons and that is where the focus should be.”
He also expressed concern with the government spending upwards of $1 billion to buy back guns.
“We are coming out of a pandemic where every dollar should be spent wisely,” states Schweitzer.
The newsroom asked Schweitzer if he is looking at options to fight back against the legislation.
“We are looking at different options on what we can do in response and one of the things we are seriously looking at is getting a Chief Firearms Officer for the province.”
There is a Chief Firearms Officer for Canada.
Schweitzer also wanted feels federal policy is too centralized.
“The federal government keeps developing policies in downtown Toronto and it is out of touch with our rural communities, particularly here in Alberta,” concludes Schweitzer.
