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The Alberta government will introduce a motion under provincial sovereignty legislation this week to challenge the federal gun buyback program, Premier Danielle Smith announced Saturday during a speech at the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting.
The motion, if passed by the legislature, will instruct “provincial entities,” including municipalities and law enforcement agencies, to refuse to enforce or prosecute the assault-style firearms compensation program.
It would also protect Albertans defending themselves from intruders, he said.
“I have a little advice for petty criminals: If you don’t want to get shot, don’t break into someone’s house,” Smith said during his speech. “It’s really that simple, isn’t it?”
Smith addresses thousands of United Conservative Party members at the party’s annual meeting in Edmonton, announcing several new policies and highlighting existing achievements. CBC News speaks to commentators and experts for full analysis.
The provincial government wants police and the justice system to focus on “criminals, not farmers, not ranchers, not sports shooters, not Albertans defending their families and homes,” he said.
Public Safety Canada did not respond Saturday to CBC News request for comment. The ministry oversees the weapons program and its responsibilities include advising on police and firearms policies.
The Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act, passed in December 2022, provides a framework to challenge federal laws and policies in court.
The federal government has banned more than 2,500 brands and models of assault firearms since May 2020. It developed a buyback programwhich is voluntary, to compensate eligible companies and individuals who own such weapons.
But there is an amnesty period for this gun ban. If individuals and businesses do not remove or deactivate those weapons by October 30, 2026, they risk being charged with unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm.
“Obviously, firearms owners are not happy about this, because it’s just another step in Ottawa’s 50-year history…targeting law-abiding firearms owners with increasingly draconian laws and confiscation and devaluation of property,” Teri Bryant, Alberta’s firearms director, told CBC News on Saturday.
Bryant’s office reports to the provincial Ministry of Justice.
Financial investment, sentimentality and sports are among the reasons people are against federal policy, Bryant said. He also said the ban also has had no apparent effect on criminal use.
The Alberta government has taken steps in recent years to try to address federal gun restrictions.
In September, Smith included firearms-related stipulations in his mandate letters to Justice Minister Mickey Amery and Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis.
Amery’s mandate letter stated that he must “relentlessly defend the right of Albertans to the legal and safe possession of firearms and affirm the right of Albertans to self-defense.”
Ellis was mandated to ensure all police priorities are aligned with that direction.
Part of the intention behind the upcoming motion is to tell the federal government that it should not rely on any provincial entity to cooperate with its buyback program, nor assist with the confiscation of guns from registered owners, Amery told CBC News on Saturday.
The Ministry of Justice will not direct prosecutors to specific cases, he said, but can (and plans to) issue guidelines as general policy for the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service.
This motion, if passed, could put RCMP officers serving in Alberta in a bind because they are under federal jurisdiction. Amery said it’s up to that agency to choose whether to follow Ottawa’s directive.
“Given the fact that we have heard countless reports that the RCMP across Canada is severely understaffed, we believe their priorities should lie elsewhere,” he said.
Bryant said police officers followed that path to apprehend criminals and protect law-abiding citizens.
“It’s really important for police to maintain the trust of the community,” he said. “And it’s pretty difficult to maintain that trust if you’re confiscating legally acquired property from citizens who have done nothing wrong.”
The opposition NDP did not immediately respond to CBC News’ request for comment.
