OTTAWA — Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says he doubts local police will have the resources to enforce the Liberals’ mandatory gun “buy-back” program and says the reason Prime Minister Mark Carney is sticking with the policy is to appease voters in Quebec.
That’s according to a roughly 20-minute conversation the minister had on Sunday with a tenant, which the minister says is authentic but was recorded without his knowledge and then circulated by a “gun lobbyist.”
In the recording, Anandasangaree reveals to the man he is speaking with that the federal government will announce the next phase of the program on Tuesday and unveil a pilot that will roll out in Cape Breton.
The Liberals had planned to move ahead this fall with the next phase of the program, which would cover individuals who own one of the 1,500 “assault-style firearms” former prime minister Justin Trudeau banned in the wake of the deadly 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.
“Don’t ask me to explain the logic on this to you, OK,” the minister tells the individual he is speaking with, after revealing the date of the forthcoming announcement, adding that the person “may not be happy” with the news.
The individual, who identifies himself as a gun owner, repeatedly questions the minister on the policy. At one point, Anandasangaree offers to pay him the difference in compensation and even bail him out of jail, given that the person informs him that he will not hand over his property.
Under the Liberal program, which the government has already launched for businesses, individuals who own one of the 1,500 “assault-style” firearms banned by the government would be mandated to hand over their guns in exchange for compensation.
The Liberals added another 200 models to that prohibited list earlier this year.
Anandasangaree has publicly acknowledged that the amnesty, which has been in place since 2020, protecting businesses and individuals from criminal liability, would be extended beyond October 2025, but has yet to detail how long.
While the
Liberals have always said the program would be mandatory
, Anandasangaree repeatedly emphasized it was “voluntary.”
At one point, the individual suggests to the minister that police would have to come to his home to collect his firearms and place him in handcuffs.
“I doubt very much it’s going to go that far,” Anandasangaree says. “I just don’t think municipal police services have the resources to do this.”
Last week, the minister acknowledged to reporters that the Ontario Provincial Police would not be participating in the program.
At another point in the recorded conversation, Anandasangaree said the program’s budget of $742 million would be “capped.”
He also suggested the government would not reach that budgeted amount.
Throughout the recorded conversation, Anandasangaree does not appear to be defending the need for the program, but explains why Carney’s government chose to stick with it, given the widespread backlash from firearms owners, First Nations, and criticism from the Opposition Conservatives and premiers like Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
“Like I’m picking up where it was left off, right?” Anandasangaree said. “This is the mandate I was given by Carney to complete this … and not revisit this.”
“That’s my objective, right? Just put an end to this and move on with other additional criminal justice tools,” some of which he lists out, including bail and stiffer penalties for those who have unlicensed firearms.
“Going forward, it will be a different approach, OK,” the minister says. “This is completing something that was started five years ago.”
Asked by the man whether he has spoken to Carney about the policy, Anandasangaree said that he has had “constant, constant discussions” on the next steps, and the government decided to stick with it, given it was a promise made during the spring election campaign
Pressed again by the person on why not break the campaign promise, Anandasangaree said it was because of Liberal voters in Quebec.
“Quebec is in a different place than other parts of Canada, right? And this is something that (is) very much a big, big, big deal for many of the Quebec electorate that vote for us,” Anandasangaree said.
“That’s one of the major things.”
Near the end of the conversation, Anandasangaree says if he were to “redo” the policy, from the beginning, “I would have a very different approach.”
In a statement to
National Post
, Anandasangaree defends the conversation by saying his comments to the individual were “misguided.”
“I make a point to speak with Canadians who do not support our approach, to listen to their concerns and ensure they understand their options in this voluntary buyback program. In trying to address this individual’s frustrations, my comments were misguided,” he said in a statement.
“Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows how seriously I take my job. No one should be mistaken about my unequivocal support for the program.”
Anandasangaree repeated much of the same when pressed on his comments in the House of Commons on Monday by Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Poilievre and the Conservatives have long argued against the program, calling it a waste of taxpayer dollars and an ineffective strategy to deal with rising gun violence, given that it targets lawful gun owners.
Poilievre told MPs on Monday that the minister, in his own words, “has admitted it won’t work.”
National Post
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