Our neighbors to the north are at it again. Nearly a year after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a sweeping ban on 1,500 so-called “Assault-Style Weapons,” the government now plans to buy them all back. Presented as a voluntary buyback, many Canadian gun owners are not having it.
The Canadian Voluntary Gun Buyback Program
The proposed legislation, Bill C-21, would “Complete the prohibition of assault-style firearms to ensure these weapons cannot be legally used, transported, sold, transferred, or bequeathed by individuals in Canada. We also intend to move forward with a buyback program in the coming months to support the safe removal of these firearms from our communities,” the bill reads.
Trudeau and company are reportedly putting their money where their mouths are. Though not finalized, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the government estimates buying 150,000 to 200,000 firearms, reported the Toronto Star. It further estimates spending between $300 to $400 million, averaging $1,300 per firearm. But gun advocates reportedly smell a rat with these figures.
“It seems a certainty that despite Minister Blair’s ‘fair market value’ assurances, the government will offer pennies on the dollar and try to strong-arm these Canadians into accepting inadequate compensation,” Tony Bernardo, executive director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, told the Toronto Star.
“Firearms owners are tired of being blamed for the actions of criminals,” he continued. “… Poor participation in the compensation program seems likely.”
Moreover, other Canadians are stating what we’re all feeling, more to the point. Many don’t plan to sell their firearms to the government.
“They are not for sale,” Charles Zach, executive director of the National Firearms Association, told the Toronto Star. “This is a bad law. It’s wrong-headed. The so-called public safety measures are aimed at the wrong people.”
Canadian gun owners now find themselves in a familiar place we now find ourselves in here in America: Square in the crosshairs of gun control zealots. But for now, it appears Canadians plan to fight back.
“This is a culture war,” Zach told the Toronto Star. “We’ve drawn a line in the sand. There will be no more compromises.”