A long-promised federal gun buyback program is now being revealed.
The details announced this afternoon come after the federal government announced a ban on 1,500 types of assault-style weapons last Spring.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair is bringing the bill forward, explaining the goal is to end the use of those weapons.
“We have proposed, through this legislation, strong incentives for the surrender and compensation of these weapons, eliminating all elements of legal use. They can’t be shot, they can’t be traded, they can’t be transported, they can’t be sold and they can’t be bequeathed,” he explains.
If the bill is passed, any owner who doesn’t surrender a banned weapon will be held responsible if it is later used in a crime.
Blair emphasizes that this would only apply to banned weapons.
“There is nothing in the measures that we are bringing forward intended to interfere or make more difficult the activities of legitimate hunting and sport activities with firearms,” he adds.
The legislation would also allow municipalities to create by-laws restricting handguns, and increase penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking.
