>The Alberta government will introduce a motion next week under provincial sovereignty legislation to defy the federal gun buy-back program, Premier Danielle Smith announced Saturday during a speech at the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting.
>Smith said the motion, if passed by the legislature, will instruct “provincial entities,” including municipalities and law enforcement agencies, “to refuse to enforce or prosecute under the federal gun seizure program.”
>It would also protect Albertans defending themselves from intruders, she said.
>[…]
>The Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act, passed in December 2022, offers a framework to challenge federal laws and policies in court.
>The federal government has banned more than 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms since May 2020. It developed a buy-back program, which is voluntary, to compensate eligible businesses and individuals who own such weapons.
>[…]
>The Alberta government has taken steps over the past few years to try to push back against federal gun restrictions.
>In September, Smith included firearm-related stipulations in her mandate letters to Justice Minister Mickey Amery and Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis.
>Part of the intention behind the upcoming motion is to signal to the federal government that it shouldn’t rely on any provincial entities to cooperate with its buy-back program, nor help with confiscating guns from registered owners, Justice Minister Mickey Amery told CBC News Saturday.
>The Justice Ministry will not direct prosecutors to specific cases, he said, but he can — and plans to — issue guidelines as a general policy to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service.
>This motion, if passed, could put RCMP officers serving in Alberta in a bind, because they fall under federal jurisdiction. Amery said it’s up to that agency to choose whether they follow Ottawa’s directive.
>[…]
>If the Alberta government passes legislation that hinders the compensation program’s collection process, gunowners who made a declaration wouldn’t be directed to the next step of submitting a claim and scheduling an appointment, the Public Safety Canada spokesperson said.
>Instead, those gunowners would have to export, deactivate or hand over their firearms to police, without compensation, the spokesperson said.
>The Opposition NDP is not commenting on the UCP event this weekend, a party spokesperson said Sunday.
# Signals of change to come
>After inking a new memorandum of understanding this week with the federal Liberal government to loosen some environmental rules in Alberta in exchange for investment in carbon capture and a higher industrial carbon price, the premier faced some booing and pushback on Friday from the separatist elements of her party base.
>Saturday’s larger crowd gathered at the Edmonton Expo Centre had a warmer response when the premier touted the new agreement with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
>[…]
>She also reiterated a promise that the province would seize more control over immigration to Alberta, which was a desire echoed by cabinet ministers and delegates throughout the weekend. The government hasn’t yet said how it intends to do this.
>[…]
>Amery also told delegates a “suite of policy changes” is coming to put guardrails around medical assistance in dying (MAID) within the province.
# Members approve policy on restricting abortion
>On Saturday, members debated 36 party policy resolutions, and voted to approve 35 of them, including a proposal to cease public funding for most third-trimester abortions.
>Members only rejected a resolution about preventing foreign ownership of land.
>Government MLAs got an earful throughout the weekend about auto insurance reforms set to take effect at the start of 2027.
>Party members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the government repealing legislation that will bring a “care first” auto insurance system that substantially limits an injured person’s ability to sue another driver after a collision.
!ping Gott-Strafe-Alberta
OkEntertainment1313 on
The gun buyback is such a dumb program, but this seems… like a *really* inflammatory play after what was probably the best moment for Alberta-Ottawa relations in generations.
ProfessionalStudy732 on
Ohhh please Carney kill it! Put the Conservatives in the ground.
VeganKirby on
Not opposed to this. Anything to get Carney to cancel this ridiculous program.
4 Comments
>The Alberta government will introduce a motion next week under provincial sovereignty legislation to defy the federal gun buy-back program, Premier Danielle Smith announced Saturday during a speech at the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting.
>Smith said the motion, if passed by the legislature, will instruct “provincial entities,” including municipalities and law enforcement agencies, “to refuse to enforce or prosecute under the federal gun seizure program.”
>It would also protect Albertans defending themselves from intruders, she said.
>[…]
>The Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act, passed in December 2022, offers a framework to challenge federal laws and policies in court.
>The federal government has banned more than 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms since May 2020. It developed a buy-back program, which is voluntary, to compensate eligible businesses and individuals who own such weapons.
>[…]
>The Alberta government has taken steps over the past few years to try to push back against federal gun restrictions.
>In September, Smith included firearm-related stipulations in her mandate letters to Justice Minister Mickey Amery and Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis.
>Part of the intention behind the upcoming motion is to signal to the federal government that it shouldn’t rely on any provincial entities to cooperate with its buy-back program, nor help with confiscating guns from registered owners, Justice Minister Mickey Amery told CBC News Saturday.
>The Justice Ministry will not direct prosecutors to specific cases, he said, but he can — and plans to — issue guidelines as a general policy to the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service.
>This motion, if passed, could put RCMP officers serving in Alberta in a bind, because they fall under federal jurisdiction. Amery said it’s up to that agency to choose whether they follow Ottawa’s directive.
>[…]
>If the Alberta government passes legislation that hinders the compensation program’s collection process, gunowners who made a declaration wouldn’t be directed to the next step of submitting a claim and scheduling an appointment, the Public Safety Canada spokesperson said.
>Instead, those gunowners would have to export, deactivate or hand over their firearms to police, without compensation, the spokesperson said.
>The Opposition NDP is not commenting on the UCP event this weekend, a party spokesperson said Sunday.
# Signals of change to come
>After inking a new memorandum of understanding this week with the federal Liberal government to loosen some environmental rules in Alberta in exchange for investment in carbon capture and a higher industrial carbon price, the premier faced some booing and pushback on Friday from the separatist elements of her party base.
>Saturday’s larger crowd gathered at the Edmonton Expo Centre had a warmer response when the premier touted the new agreement with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
>[…]
>She also reiterated a promise that the province would seize more control over immigration to Alberta, which was a desire echoed by cabinet ministers and delegates throughout the weekend. The government hasn’t yet said how it intends to do this.
>[…]
>Amery also told delegates a “suite of policy changes” is coming to put guardrails around medical assistance in dying (MAID) within the province.
# Members approve policy on restricting abortion
>On Saturday, members debated 36 party policy resolutions, and voted to approve 35 of them, including a proposal to cease public funding for most third-trimester abortions.
>Members only rejected a resolution about preventing foreign ownership of land.
>Government MLAs got an earful throughout the weekend about auto insurance reforms set to take effect at the start of 2027.
>Party members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the government repealing legislation that will bring a “care first” auto insurance system that substantially limits an injured person’s ability to sue another driver after a collision.
!ping Gott-Strafe-Alberta
The gun buyback is such a dumb program, but this seems… like a *really* inflammatory play after what was probably the best moment for Alberta-Ottawa relations in generations.
Ohhh please Carney kill it! Put the Conservatives in the ground.
Not opposed to this. Anything to get Carney to cancel this ridiculous program.