Yukon gun owners say they're unimpressed with Ottawa's buyback program

Some Yukon gun owners say the federal government's buyback program for restricted firearms misses the mark.

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.

But Donovan Dewis, a Whitehorse firearms advocate, says the program puts the onus on law-abiding gun owners instead of criminals.

"The program is basically a waste of time and money," said Dewis, publisher of the newspaper Canadian Access To Firearms.

The buyback program offers anywhere from $150 to $10,000 per fully-assembled weapon to individuals, depending on the model of guns returned. Gun owners can also receive between $400 and $700 for guns they've disabled themselves.

But Dewis said in many cases, the figures the government is offering don't come close to the actual value of the guns.

"They're expecting somebody to hand up their property for pennies on the dollar," he said.

Nora Tremblay, another Whitehorse gun owner, said the assault weapons ban doesn't make sense when Canadians who own firearms are already subject to strict vetting.

"You have to take a course, you have to submit to background checks, you have to admit if you have mental health issues and [you're] doing all of these things to keep everyone around you safe," she said.

'No measurable reduction in gun crime,' expert says

Amin Asfari, who teaches police studies at the University of Regina, said the data back up claims the buyback program will do little to improve public safety. He said such programs typically only capture a small number of guns, and rarely from people who end up using firearms in a crime.

"There's really no measurable reduction in gun crime," he said. "It's underwhelming kind of results. If you look at the data, there's no significant reduction in firearms homicides or suicides."

A better approach, he suggests, would be for governments to team up with non-profits that work to prevent violence in their communities.

Yukon Justice Minister Laura Lang said in a statement Friday the territorial government opposes the gun buyback, though it's not clear what the territory can actually do about it. She instead called for more money for police to fight organized crime.

Lang also called the federal program unfair.

That's because the buyback works on a first-come, first-served basis as long as there's money for the program. There's no guarantee gun owners who turn over weapons will be compensated, and Ottawa also says guns that are handed over but aren't on the list of models eligible for the buyback will simply be destroyed.

Lang also said the program won't compensate owners for ammunition or other components that are useless without the gun that goes with them.

“These costs will leave responsible Yukon gun owners out of pocket for many thousands of dollars, on pain of criminal penalty," she said in a statement. "Our government appeals to the Government of Canada to scrap this program."

Lang said the Yukon government will roll out "additional options to support law abiding gun owners" in the coming weeks.