Ottawa, ON — Raquel Dancho, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Safety, and Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Services and Procurement,  released the following statement after the Liberal government quietly extended the amnesty period for their May 2020 firearms ban:

“Today, the Liberal government quietly published an update that the amnesty period for their arbitrary firearms ban that was due to expire next month, will be extended for an additional year and a half. 

“The reality is a majority of shootings causing death in Canada are attributed to illegal guns from the U.S in the hands of gangs and criminals. The Liberal firearm ban is a logistical nightmare that will cost Canadians billions of dollars while doing little to nothing to get guns away from gangs and criminals or stop the flow of illegal guns entering Canada.

“It is shocking that in the two years since they implemented this ban that targets firearms collectors, sport shooters, hunters, and Indigenous Canadians, the Liberal government still hasn’t figured out how to administer their flagship campaign promise.

“In that time, the Liberal government has been unable to tell firearms owners how their buyback boondoggle will work or how much it will cost, who will be certified to accept and dispose of confiscated firearms, and they still have not established what to pay owners for their confiscated property.

“Now the Liberals are nearly doubling the amnesty period and stretching out their failed campaign promise beyond 3 elections, leaving the entire process in limbo.

“Instead of pushing it off for yet another election, the Liberals should scrap their arbitrary firearm ban and their plans for a buyback program and provide those resources to our police officers, border officials, and grassroots youth diversion programs. The government must focus on making our streets safer by targeting the true source of gun violence in Canada: illegally smuggled guns in the hands of gangs and criminals.”