Manitoba gun owners left confused as federal buyback program begins

Manitoba firearm owners are wondering what to do with their guns after the province said it won’t enforce the federal gun buyback program. Danton Unger explains

As the federal government’s gun buyback program officially gets off the ground, it’s leaving some local gun owners confused and frustrated.

Edward Landy has been a registered gun owner in Manitoba for decades but now worries he may have to get rid of some of his firearms thanks to the federal government’s gun buyback program.

“Personally, I think it’s ridiculous. I don’t think that it was well thought out,” said Landy.

The federal government has outlawed about 2,500 types of assault-style firearms. Owners of these firearms have until October to turn them in or permanently deactivate them.

Landy said with no computer, he’s not sure yet if his firearms are included in the program.

“I’ll have to get my friends to get help me out with their computer so I can figure out whether my guns are legal or banned, and then we’ll deal with it,” he said.

Even if some of his guns are included, Landy isn’t sure what his next steps should be, given the program’s poor reception.

“There’s a lot of places that are saying we’re not doing it anymore,” he said.

The Manitoba government is among them. Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the province will not administer the buyback program.

“I think we’ve been pretty clear; our government doesn’t think this is the most effective way to impact crime, to impact public safety,” he said.

Still, Wiebe said gun owners will have to comply with the federal law.

“There’s going to be avenues that they can do that, with the City of Winnipeg, with the RCMP, again, with no provincial resources deployed,” he said.

The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) is one of the only local jurisdictions in Canada to sign on to the program so far, with a $2.8 million agreement to collect the assault-style firearms.

Police told CTV News their role begins only after an eligible gun owner has completed an online form with Public Safety Canada to surrender their firearm.

“If a resident of Winnipeg is approved for compensation by Public Safety Canada, arrangements will be made for them to turn their firearm(s) over to the WPS,” the service said in a written statement.

Landy said if one of his guns is banned, “I would probably just have it destroyed.”

Gun owners will have to let the government know by the end of March if they are planning to surrender a firearm and get compensation.

The federal government said the amnesty period for these prohibited guns will end on Oct. 30.