The final pieces are in place for the government’s gun confiscation plan, and the OFAH has serious concerns.
I had hoped the government would either come to its senses and scrap the buyback program or fail to find a practical way to implement it. But they found a way. The government has launched a six-week pilot program in Cape Breton to work out any kinks in the process, from the online portal to the collection and destruction of guns. Nationwide expansion is expected later this fall. To accommodate the buyback program, the government is extending the amnesty for another year.
Our federation has always been opposed to the arbitrary reclassification of these firearms and the forced destruction of legally owned property. The government’s attacks on legal gun owners have eroded trust and the structure of this compensation program threatens to make the problem even worse.
Before a person can receive compensation, they must fill out a declaration listing all prohibited firearms in their possession. But here’s the thing — there’s no guarantee you’ll be compensated! The program is capped at $742 million, including costs for compensation, collection, and destruction. The program will almost certainly run out of money before all guns are collected, leaving many gun owners with nothing. Once you declare your prohibited firearms, however, the government will know exactly what’s in your possession, even if you get nothing in return. Keep this in mind over the next year.
The government has spent years gaslighting Canadians into believing that two-million licensed and vetted people are a threat to their safety. But even the general public is waking up to the reality that, at a time when many Canadians are struggling and our economy is sputtering, the government is willing to spend almost a billion dollars to buy firearms from law-abiding individuals. Not only will this fail to reduce gun violence and improve public safety, it’s also an opportunity cost that misdirects vital funding that could be better used to improve border security through increased staffing and new technologies, address the upstream determinants of involvement in gangs, tackle gun smuggling, and reform the justice system.
It’s a classic government paradox. Only Ottawa could implement a mass confiscation program then fail to guarantee that you’ll receive compensation. The government now finds itself trapped by sunk costs and unrealistic promises and probably feels there’s no way out but through. And that’s a terrible way to make public policy.
Originally published in the Nov.-Dec. 2025 issue of Ontario Out of Doors
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Contact Information
PO Box 2800 / 4601 Guthrie Dr.
Peterborough, Ontario Canada K9J 8L5
Phone: 705-748-OFAH (6324)
Fax: 705-748-9577
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