Alberta to rebel against Ottawa’s proposed assault-style weapons seizure

.

The Alberta government promises to disarm the federal government’s attempt to seize assault-style firearms.

.

On Monday, Attorney General Tyler Shandro said the province does not believe the RCMP should confiscate some 30,000 firearms under legislation targeting weapons that Ottawa considers assault-style.

.

The province will also seek intervenor status in six judicial reviews constitutionally challenging the federal government’s efforts to restrict ownership of legally acquired firearms whose repurchase seized through its House Bill C-71 will do nothing to improve safety. public, he said.

“(It’s) an overreach in the lives of law-abiding gun owners…this is a politically motivated confiscation, pure and simple,” Shandro said.

“While the federal government has labeled them ‘assault style,’ that is a label designed to scare Canadians unfamiliar with firearms. These weapons are not materially different from any semi-automatic.”

.

Federal Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino, Shandro noted, has asked the province to provide resources to allow the RCMP to seize 1,500 firearm models this fall that include antique collectibles and shotguns.

He said that means Ottawa intends to “recruit” RCMP officers in Alberta as agents; and was informed that the commanding officer of RCMP Division K does not support the federal plan.

“But we believe the federal government will go ahead with their plans without flinching,” Shandro said, adding that he has ordered the RCMP’s Alberta command to refuse to make the seizures because they are not a law enforcement priority.

However, if Ottawa goes ahead, the province will further challenge it by invoking Section 23 of the Provincial Police Service Agreement, which is intended as a dispute resolution mechanism.

.

While he couldn’t say how much it would cost the Alberta government in police resources to seize the weapons, he said the $750 million annually Albertans pay to operate the RCMP in the province could be misused for that purpose.

“(Opposing) is making sure that money spent on surveillance is spent on surveillance,” Shandro said.

Ottawa, he said, should focus more on reducing the flow of illegal firearms into the country.

Yet the province’s stance is a futile exercise whose only value is in local political theater, said constitutional expert and former Alberta Liberal leader David Khan.

.

“The Alberta Court of Appeal (which sided with Alberta 4 to 1 that this was an intrusion on provincial jurisdiction; now before the Supreme Court of Canada) has had its decisions repeatedly overturned by the SCC in constitutional cases like these,” Khan said.

“Alberta just makes them look tough on Ottawa. It’s a bonanza for the politically connected lawyers they hire to represent them.”

Alberta’s position will be hampered by its inability to show that a gun buyback program does not further a public safety goal, Khan said.

“It is ridiculous for you to claim that this federal buyback program is not tied to community safety, or is not a valid use of RCMP federal/provincial law enforcement resources,” he said.

Shandro rejected a suggestion refusing to observe Ottawa’s gun control legislation is similar to the Sovereignty Act proposed by UCP leadership candidate Danielle Smith, which requires the province to ignore federal laws not of its own. interest.

.

Smith’s act has been derided by Prime Minister Jason Kenney and others in his orbit as unconstitutional and unworkable.

The province’s challenge is not a way to promote the UCP government’s decision to create a provincial police force, Shandro said, calling the two issues “separate.”

Asked if the province’s stance could put RCMP members charged with seizing weapons in greater danger, he again insisted that Bill C-71 will not protect public safety.

“None of this is focused on keeping our communities safe,” he said.

Alberta police say they increasingly come across firearms during their investigations.

In an incident earlier this month, Strathmore RCMP said a road rage incident involving a gun led them to seize 49 firearms, including several handguns with some of the firearms illegally possessed and stored, from the suspect’s home in Calgary.

.

The Gun Control Coalition has long called Bill C-71 one that focuses on issues beyond the conventional criminal use of firearms.

“For too long, a vocal minority has hijacked the public agenda on gun control and we have seen the impact of the (Stephen) Harper years on the proliferation of firearms, the escalation of gun violence and mass shootings. hate-motivated mass shootings, most often with legal firearms,” ​​read a statement on the coalition’s website.

“This proposed law will strengthen gun license screening processes with a particular focus on risk factors associated with domestic violence, but also suicide and hate crimes. He will support a ban on certain military-style semi-automatic assault weapons, such as the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14, which are not reasonably used for hunting but are designed to kill people efficiently.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn