‘To have the law repealed’: Saskatchewan to issue exemptions to owners of prohibited guns

Saskatchewan gun owners will soon be able to apply for exemptions to keep newly banned firearms until federal buyback compensation. Donovan Maess reports.

The Government of Saskatchewan is further expanding its firearms legislation, now including vouchers for owners of prohibited firearms that have not received compensation from Ottawa.

“Each and every province but one is not in favour of this gun confiscation,” Premier Scott Moe said during an address to the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities convention Wednesday. “To protect the gun owners in Saskatchewan, we have done a number of things … restricting who would be able to come and confiscate firearms.”

In an update Wednesday, the province revealed that additional amendments to The Saskatchewan Firearms Act will allow gun owners to apply for a “certificate of exemption.”

“Those firearms are going nowhere until the province assesses the actual value of them, not only depreciated value after they were deemed to be legal,” Moe said.

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The certificate will allow the owners to retain the right to continue to possess their prohibited firearms on behalf of the province. The certificates will remain in place until the gun owners are “fairly compensated” by the federal government.

“[The federal government has] to provide fair market value, and until they do you can continue to store your own firearm if you are storing it in a safe and appropriate way. In a safe and secure way,” Minister of Justice Tim McLeod told reporters Wednesday. “By doing that, you’re doing that for the benefit of the province so that we don’t have to do it on your behalf.”

According to the province, the certificates are allowed under Section 117.08 of the Criminal Code.

The provincial government has long been in opposition of the federal government’s Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program (ASFCP), mirroring the sentiments of many retailers and gun owners in the province.

The proposed amendments represent the latest actions taken by the province on the contentious topic.

“You may be in violation of the law,” the premier added. “Today what we’re saying is: here’s an avenue for you to not be in violation of the law.”

• Saskatchewan moves to support gun owners through federal buyback

When asked if he expected pushback from the federal government about the changes, Moe believes it will not.

“No one is going to take their guns away in Saskatchewan and I think largely you’re going to see that across Canada,” he added. “It’s an unfortunate situation we see provinces having to go down this path. There should be a much more collaborative path.”

The premier was then asked if he was circumventing federal law, and if the province would do so in other situations as well.

“Only if federal law is wrong,” Moe said. “We look at, ‘How can we use provincial law to ensure this thing could operate in compliance.’”

“We’re not circumventing the law, we’re using the law,” reiterated McLeod. “Our regulations clearly state, if you follow these procedures, you are acting on behalf of and for our benefit so we don’t have to safely and securely store your firearm while you wait for compensation.”

CTV News has reached out to the federal government for comment but has yet to receive a response.

Under the ASFCP, owners of prohibited firearms are required to declare their weapons by March 31, 2026 to be eligible for compensation.

Owners have until Oct. 30, 2026 to safely dispose or permanently deactivate their prohibited weapons.

Still, rural leaders and the province would like the see the program scrapped entirely.

“Our producers aren’t the ones committing crimes,” SARM president Bill Huber said. “They’re not the ones that have possession of military style rifles ... The act should be repealed.”

“The goal of [the amendments] is to have the law repealed,” Moe added.