OTTAWA –
Canada’s police chiefs are urging the federal authorities to not depend on resource-strapped police forces to hold out a deliberate gun buyback.
The Liberal authorities banned some 1,500 fashions and variants of firearms, together with the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14, by way of an order-in-council in May 2020 on the grounds they don’t have any place in searching or sport capturing.
A proposed buyback program would require house owners to both promote these firearms to the federal government or have them rendered inoperable at federal expense.
The future program would complement numerous different gun-control measures in laws being studied by the House of Commons public security committee.
Regina Police Chief Evan Bray, showing Thursday on the committee on behalf of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, mentioned the group awaits particulars on the implementation of a buyback program and the implications for police.
Bray mentioned the buyback can be an administrative course of – not a policing problem – involving a large quantity of labor.
He steered that one other group, or courier or mail providers, be enlisted to assist individuals flip of their firearms, permitting police to concentrate on lawbreakers in addition to border integrity, smuggling and trafficking.
“Our front line officers – it doesn’t matter where you’re talking in Canada – are strapped. They’re being overstretched. Their communities’ expectations are much higher than what our officers are able to deliver,” Bray mentioned.
“And sadly, we are delivering that work, but it’s at the expense of our officers because of the drain on them and their mental health. And so I think this added process needs to be diverted somewhere else rather than using police resources, if at all possible.”
The RCMP is “operating at minimal levels already,” mentioned Brian Sauve, president of the National Police Federation, which represents Mounties.
There are challenges in recruiting and retaining officers, he advised the Commons committee.
“Every time that we increase the mandate of police officers on the street, there has to be something that gives,” Sauve mentioned. “And is that going to mean that we don’t respond to that mental health call, the person in crisis in the middle of the street, because police officers are now tied up going to pick up guns that are no longer legal to possess?”
Sauve expressed concern the duty of amassing the banned firearms will fall to police. “Without sustained resources, something has to fall off the plate.”
Bray steered that if police are given the job of administering the firearm buyback effort, officers won’t be able to completely carry it out as a result of they’re too busy responding to pressing calls from the general public.
In flip, Bray mentioned, he worries that might imply many gun house owners can be thought-about criminals as soon as the amnesty interval ends as a result of their weapons haven’t been forfeited by way of the buyback.
“So if it’s not given a high enough priority, then I think it will have a counter-effect, and it will cause us problems on the back end as well.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Oct. 27, 2022.