Here's Bill 8, aka The Alberta Firearms Act

On March 7, Alberta's provincial government announced Bill 8, aka the Alberta Firearms Act. Officially, the province says the intention of this bill is to "clarify and protect Alberta’s role in regulating firearms." Reading through it, it's obviously a massive pushback against the federal government's plans for upcoming firearms seizures, but it is limited due to the restricted powers of the province.

You can read Bill 8 in PDF form here.

Bill 8 was introduced on March 7, but has not been passed into law by the provincial legislature yet. If passed, here's a quick rundown of what it will accomplish.

First, the bill will lay out the role of the province's Chief Firearms Officer as not just the administrator of federal firearms legislation, but also as an advocate for the firearms community, committed to engagement with the province's gun owners. The press release says says "The role could be further defined through regulations," and that's the theme for much of this bill; the province has tried to keep it open-ended, to allow for reaction to changing federal policy. Having said that, this redefining of the CFO role is very significant, and a big departure from what the CFO's role has often been in other provinces. As part of the new legislation, the province will require annual reports on the Chief Firearms Office's activities.

Second, the bill is also intended to allow quick reaction to gun control plans from the provincial government itself.

The province's write-up says Bill 8 may be used to make it difficult for municipalities and municipal police forces to do an end-run around the provinces and make their own deals with the federal government for gun control funding. This has been something the federal Liberals have been moving towards for years now, using leaders in population centres to bypass provincial authority.

Bill 8 may also be used to establish protocols for firearms seizures; specifically, the Alberta Firearms Act will name which persons or organizations are allowed to confiscate or seize firearms. This will theoretically have the same effect as Saskatchewan's Firearms Act, which requires licencing for firearms seizures.

The new legislation can also be used to create a framework of rules and regulations surrounding firearms seizure programs. These rules will lay out a plan for fair compensation in the case of seizure as well as safe procedures for any large-scale program dealing with firearms. Presumably, this will cover not only the conduct of officers involved with seizures, but also the storage and disposal of firearms. There has been considerable unhappiness amongst Canadian gun owners who believe current federal seizure plans may see their firearms confiscated and then repurposed by the federal government, perhaps as foreign aid, instead of being destroyed.

Note that the bill does not directly oppose federal firearms legislation, which would create a lawyer's nightmare under current Canadian legal framework. While federal firearms policy has not been consistent in its interaction with provincial powers, Alberta (like Saskatchewan a few weeks ago) likely sees no gain in a lengthy Supreme Court battle, and instead appears to be planning a run-out-the-clock tactic on federal firearms seizure, until there's a policy change in Ottawa.

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