Nunavut gov’t says no police resources will be used on federal gun buyback program

The Nunavut government says it will not be using police resources on the federal gun buyback program, and solutions proposed by Ottawa do not apply to the territory. 

More than 2,500 types of so-called “assault-style” weapons have been illegal in Canada since 2020. The federal government has an amnesty order in place for the guns and is offering to buy them back from businesses and individual owners.

Andrew Blackadar, Nunavut’s assistant deputy minister for public safety, believes the administration of that program could be a strain on police – especially given the remoteness of Nunavut’s communities. 

“We don’t want to divert policing resources towards this and take them away from the much more important public safety needs that we have here in the territory,” he said. 

In 2023, there were 140 officers across Nunavut ’s 25 police detachments according to Nunavut’s Bureau of Statistics, though staffing levels vary and some smaller communities have very few officers assigned.

In a statement to CBC News, Public Safety Canada says the program will not compromise frontline police work. 

“The RCMP is being funded to collect firearms separate from their contract policing activities in provinces and territories,” the department said, adding it will bring in supplementary resources, such as police reservists and public servants. 

But Nunavut’s justice department says all police resources – including reservists and public servants – are funded through the territorial police service agreement.

“The position of the Government of Nunavut is that territorial policing resources will not be used to collect these firearms,” it wrote in a statement. 

Blackadar is proposing the federal government bring in a third party contractor to do that work.

Turn it in or have it deactivated

Gun owners who possess banned firearms can make declarations to the federal government until the end of March. The amnesty period ends on Oct. 30, after which point it will be illegal to possess the banned firearms.

Public Safety Canada says there are two options for people with banned firearms: turn it in or have it permanently deactivated. Firearms in Nunavut will be collected by the RCMP, or they can be shipped for deactivation. The department says instructions on that process will be provided after the national declaration period ends on March 31.

But Nunavut’s justice department says Ottawa has not shared that plan with them – and the territorial government has not received communications about the program since the summer. Nunavut RCMP’s Sgt. George Henrie says he currently doesn’t have enough information on the program to comment. 

All three territories have now expressed concerns with the program. The N.W.T. government says the territory’s RCMP will not be involved in the program. The Yukon government also says it won’t participate in the program, though it’s unclear what that means for gun owners in the territory.

Ottawa has argued the program is focused on firearms designed for warfare, and not for hunting or sport shooting. 

Public Safety Canada says there are 124 assault-style firearms in Nunavut, meaning the program would affect just a fraction of the territory’s population.