Canada's Gun Buyback Lands With Thud
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Canada just ran a nationwide gun confiscation program and got about half the participation they planned for — and in some places, barely a rounding error.
"I would say it was ineffective."
— Jonathan Rocheleau, president of the Yellowknife Shooting ClubThat's the kind of quote that says everything without saying much. When the president of your local shooting club needs exactly one sentence, you know how it went.
Ottawa budgeted for 136,000 declarations nationwide and set aside nearly $250 million. Fewer than half that many — 67,000 — were declared across all of Canada.
Nearly $250 million for a 49% return rate. If your reloading setup produced ammo at that consistency, you'd tear the press apart and start over. And that 67,000 figure still leaves an estimated 113,000 banned firearms unaccounted for — sitting in safes, in closets, under beds.
The RCMP's national headquarters confirmed it maintains records of who possessed now-prohibited firearms — but knowing who has them and actually collecting them are two different problems.
This is the actual gap that every registration debate eventually hits. A list of names is not enforcement — it's paperwork. The N.W.T. RCMP already said they won't participate, and no one at the federal level will go on record about what happens next. October 30 criminal liability deadline with no enforcement mechanism is just a number on a calendar.
Worth keeping an eye on the Supreme Court challenge. If that ruling goes against the underlying ban, the whole program unravels — and the Canadian government may already be hoping that's exactly what happens so they can walk away from this quietly.
For those of us watching this from Idaho, the participation numbers are the story. When compliance with a compensated, deadline-driven confiscation program lands at 37% in a high-ownership territory, that tells you something about how gun owners respond to programs they view as illegitimate — regardless of what the law says.
For anyone who's had conversations with Canadian shooters — online, at matches, at SHOT, wherever — what's their read on October 30? Are they expecting actual enforcement action, or is everyone operating on the assumption this deadline comes and goes without consequence?
Read the full article in The Handbook → | By Steve Duskett
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