Gun owners in Yellowknife say they have mixed feelings about a new federal buy-back program for banned assault-style firearms.
Federal public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree launched the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program last week as a way for gun owners to get rid of firearms now considered illegal.
Public Safety Canada says Ottawa has banned 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms since 2020.
Nathan Kogiak, a lifelong hunter and trapper, said he was initially “kind-of annoyed” when he received a notice asking him to disclose banned firearms he owns as part of the compensation program.
He has a Ruger Mini-14 – a semi-automatic rifle that appears on the banned list – which he uses for wolf hunting. He said the rifle is fairly common in the NWT, adding a lot of his hunting friends use them.
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Even so, he said he realizes there are alternative, legal rifles that could suit his hunting needs.
“I have a semi-automatic .17 WSM – which is a Winchester Super Magnum – and it has eight rounds in it so I can have one in the pipe, eight in the mag. For wolf hunting, that’s all I need,” said Kogiak.
He clarified that as an Indigenous harvester, he’s able to use a smaller caliber of firearm for hunting wolves and wolverines, but others are required to use a minimum of a .222 caliber rifle.
“There’s lots of alternatives on the market so it kind-of feels like the federal government is taking one avenue way, but still the whole street is open for other avenues for people to go down,” said Kogiak.
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He said he isn’t sure the compensation program will be effective in reducing NWT gun-related crime, since a lot of the guns he hears of being seized were reportedly stolen or obtained illegally.
He’s unlikely to participate in the buy-back, he said, which could fetch him $1,190 in compensation from Public Safety Canada in exchange for his Mini-14. He hopes the federal government ultimately reverses its decision.
“I’ll hold out as long as possible,” said Kogiak. “And if they still want to do it, then I’ll just decommission the rifle.
“I’ll wreck the bolt or decommission it according to how they want it, and then it’ll just be a wall hanger.”
Jonathan Rocheleau is the president of Yellowknife Shooting Club, which says it offers a safe environment to practise shooting sports in accordance with federal law.
Rocheleau said he received an email about the new compensation program earlier this week, because it was sent to everyone with a Possession and Acquisition Licence or Pal, a prerequisite for Canadian gun owners.
He doesn’t own any firearms on the banned list. Anecdotally, he said he has heard that some hunters chose certain semi-automatic firearms because the weapons and their ammunition were relatively cheap, but those guns have now been banned.
Rocheleau also isn’t convinced the buy-back program will move the needle on gun crime, again noting statistics that point to stolen guns being involved.
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“There is, of course, gun crime with done with legal guns. It does happen. But rarely is it the kind of American-style mass shootings that people would think about,” said Rocheleau.
A study of Canadian gun crime in 2022 published by Statistics Canada found that in homicide cases where a firearm was involved, those guns “were rarely legal firearms used by their legal owners who were in good standing.”
In about half of those homicide cases – 58 out of 113 – the gun was initially obtained legally. However, even then, only in 24 cases was the legal owner also the person accused. In the other 34, someone who didn’t legally own the gun was accused of the crime.
In 36 of the 113 homicides studied, the firearm used had never been legally owned in Canada. The gun had been stolen from its legal owner in eight cases and purchased illegally from a legal owner in five.
‘Weapons of war’
The goal of the federal compensation program is to help make communities safer, Public Safety Canada said.
“This voluntary program will remove dangerous assault-style firearms from our communities while offering law-abiding gun owners the opportunity for fair compensation,” read a news release about the program.
“Assault-style firearms do not belong in our communities. These types of firearms were designed as weapons of war,” minister Anandasangaree was quoted as saying.
Public Safety Canada noted the banning of assault-style firearms is consistent with recommendations in the Mass Casualty Commission’s final report, drafted after a spring 2020 mass shooting that took place over two days in Nova Scotia.
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On Wednesday, the Government of the Northwest Territories joined several provinces in stating it would not be involved in the federal buy-back. In the NWT, Public Safety Canada will run the program.
“The GNWT and PSC officials have been in discussion regarding the firearms collection process for the last several years. The RCMP in the NWT will not be collecting firearms on behalf of PSC,” a spokesperson for the territory’s Department of Justice said in an email to Cabin Radio.
“The GNWT supports public safety measures that uphold the rights of lawful gun owners, including Indigenous people and northerners who use these critical tools for hunting, employment, and subsistence,” the spokesperson stated.
“This is a longstanding GNWT position that the Department of Justice has communicated to the federal government on numerous occasions over the years.”
After the publication of this article, a spokesperson for PSC told Cabin Radio that firearms will be collected by the RCMP in the territories.
“The RCMP is being funded separate from contract policing to collect firearms under this program, in order to minimize impacts on other police priorities,” the spokesperson said.
“Individuals who wish to deactivate their firearm will be able to ship their firearm for deactivation and seek reimbursement of shipping costs under the Program.”
A news release from the territorial Department of Justice indicated that “firearms owners will be supported through mailed return kits and other collection options tailored to northern communities.”
Gun owners have until March 31 to submit a declaration of the possession of a banned firearm.
Those wishing not to participate in the program have until October 30 – when the amnesty period ends – to properly deactivate or dispose of prohibited firearms.
