Regina gun shop owner against buyback program, but welcomes compensation

Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced the first phase of Ottawa’s gun buyback program Wednesday.

The federal government signed a $700,000 contract with the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA) to figure out how to compensate retailers who carry weapons on the federal government’s list of banned guns.

Aaron Strauss, the owner of Cache Tactical Supply in Regina, is a member of the CSAAA.

“This is industry only (and has) nothing to do with individually owned firearms,” he said.

Although Strauss is completely opposed to a seizure of firearms, he said businesses being compensated for guns they can no longer sell is a good thing to help ensure the viability of gun stores across Canada.

“It will help get the industry dug out of a hole … The federal government has very misguided principles on gun control, and so (its) policies have a net negative (effect) on the industry,” he said. “However, this is one way for our industry to get some compensation for the very negative regulatory environment we are facing.”

Strauss added nobody in the industry wants to see the buyback happen at all and he said he believes it’s the first step in the federal government’s “policy of eradication of firearms in the country.”

“However, (the buyback) is a necessary step to keep the viability of firearms businesses in the country because (they) can’t just be sitting on dead inventory for years and years without getting this financial recourse,” he said. “All this inventory is costing interest money and carrying costs and the federal government has made it illegal to sell this inventory anywhere else.”

Despite the CSAAA signing an agreement with the federal government, Strauss said he still feels well-represented by the association.

“The CSAAA is not going to actually be doing any confiscation. All (it’s) doing is gathering information from businesses and distributors that are willing to provide that information,” he added.

According to Strauss, it will still be up to Ottawa to perform any firearm confiscation itself and any federal confiscation scheme will need to follow Saskatchewan’s provincial firearm act.

Strauss said since Cache Tactical Supply became a firearms business after May 1, 2020, there aren’t any banned guns in its inventory.

“I would like to see the federal Bill C-21 completely withdrawn and replaced with a legislation that actually goes after crime rather than goes after law-abiding firearms owners,” the gun shop owner added.

He equated the buyback program to taking everyone’s cars away because some people are driving drunk.

“The federal government should be looking at gun smuggling and gang control, not going after law-abiding hunters and sport shooters,” he added.

— With files from The Canadian Press