Protest Planned in Quebec City Against Federal Gun Buyback

Gun rights advocates and licensed firearms owners are planning a rally in Quebec City this weekend in opposition to the Liberal government’s gun ban and buyback program.

The event will take place nearly six weeks after Ottawa announced gun owners across Canada could declare interest in the nationwide program. The buyback program offers financial compensation for handing in or permanently deactivating so-called assault-style firearms that fall under the federal government’s ban.

The rally is set to take place outside the Quebec National Assembly on Feb. 28 at 10 a.m., according to the National Firearms Association (NFA).

“This is a united rally, organized alongside multiple provincial and national organizations,” the NFA said in a Feb. 20 news release. “Hunters, sport shooters, collectors, farmers, Indigenous community members, and everyday licensed owners are coming together with one purpose: to stand for fairness, evidence-based policy, and respect for lawful age-old traditions.”

The Liberal government has banned approximately 2,500 types of what it calls “assault-style” firearms since 2020. Eligible gun owners have until March 31 to make an online declaration to receive compensation for a banned firearm.

Firearms owners who do not make a declaration are expected to dispose of or deactivate their banned firearms before the amnesty period ends on Oct. 30, after which those who still have banned firearms will be considered breaking the law and may face criminal charges.

The NFA said that what happens in Quebec “is central to what happens next.”

“Participation here will shape the future of this program nationwide,” the association said in promoting the rally. “That is why numbers matter. Presence matters. Visibility matters.”

Tracey Wilson from gun advocacy group Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR) said in a social media post promoting the event that Quebec is “ground zero for the gun grab.” In a post on X, Wilson listed organizations that are coordinating bus transportation to the rally for more than two dozen Quebec communities.

Meanwhile, gun control advocates are questioning the timing of the rally in Quebec, which will come just 18 days after the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting that left nine people dead and 27 injured.

“The rally, which promises ‘flags, DJ playing music and food trucks’ is incredibly insensitive and disrespectful at a time when survivors, family members, the community of Tumbler Ridge, as well as countless other Canadians are experiencing trauma and grief,” gun control group PolyRemembers said in a Feb. 23 statement.

The group added that the rally’s “timing, its stated justifications and the celebratory atmosphere” could be viewed as “a slap in the face” by mass shooting survivors.

Declaration Deadline

In a video posted to the NFA’s website, NFA general manager Ginger Fournier said firearms owners in Quebec are hunters, indigenous peoples, sport shooters, farmers, and ordinary Canadians who comply with licensing, training, background checks, and secure storage requirements.

“They are not the problem, and they should not be treated as one,” Fournier said.

The NFA says the buyback program has “failed because it does not address real crime” and targets law-abiding citizens instead of criminals.

“Disarming law-abiding Canadians in the hope that criminals will somehow be affected is not public safety policy — it is ideological scapegoating,” the NFA said in a Feb. 19 news release. “It is costly, ineffective, and diverts resources away from measures that would actually reduce crime and violence.”

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said on Jan. 17 that “assault-style firearms do not belong in our communities,” and that banning and removing them from communities is “an important part of our government’s commitment to tackling gun violence and keeping Canadians safe.”

The government’s ban covers more than weapons that simply look like assault rifles by including almost all centrefire semi-automatic rifles.

The government has earmarked approximately $250 million in funding to compensate firearms owners, which it says will cover roughly 136,000 guns. It has also said that more than 19,000 non-restricted makes and models of firearms remain available for hunting and sport shooting in Canada.

As of Feb. 20, Public Safety Canada said more than 32,000 firearms had been declared across the country, including 13,219 in Ontario, 7,369 in British Columbia, 5,539 in Quebec, and 2,730 in Alberta.

The RCMP Canadian Firearms Program sent a reminder to individual firearms owners this week that the declaration period for the buyback program will end on March 31, while the collection and compensation phase will begin on April 1.

The notice said firearms will be collected through mobile collection units, drop-offs at RCMP detachments, or via local police who are participating in the program.

Quebec is the only province that has expressed support for the buyback program so far, while several other provinces and territories have said they will not participate in the program, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

While the RCMP and Quebec’s provincial police force have said they will collect guns eligible for compensation, several other police services have said they will not help with the program.

Quebec has its own gun registry and has signed a deal with Ottawa to cooperate with the buyback. The Quebec Public Safety Department previously told The Epoch times that data contained in the province’s registry would not be used to implement the buyback program, but said it could use the data to enforce provincial legislation on firearms registration, including by telling firearms owners which guns Ottawa no longer considers non-restricted.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.