Manitoba, Saskatchewan Join Alberta's Resistance To Federal Gun Confiscation: Here's How To Ask Your Attorney General To Do The Same

In case you missed it, Alberta's provincial government took a big step last week against the impending Order in Council firearms confiscation. Justice Minister Tyler Shandro put his cabinet's decision plainly: "Alberta will not assist the federal government in this or any federal effort to strip lawfully obtained personal property from our residents." And now, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are also on board with Alberta.

Saskatchewan put it just as plainly as Alberta, saying the provincial government "Will not support initiatives that only impact the law abiding, RCMP vetted, hunters, sport shooters, ranchers, farmers and others who use firearms for lawful and good reasons.” Manitoba was a bit more diplomatic in its response, but said something very similar: "Any buy-back program cannot further erode precious provincial police resources, already suffering from large vacancy rates, from focusing on investigation of violent crime."

For its part, Ottawa's Liberal government seemed happy to dismiss the western provinces' statements as political theatre. However, make no mistake: There's a showdown brewing between the feds and their provincial counterparts. So, how would you like to up the ante?

If you want to see the federal Order in Council firearms bans opposed in your own province, you need to pressure your local politicians. That includes your MLA; do some asking around, and you will no doubt find there are some politicians in your legislature that will lend a sympathetic ear to law-abiding firearms owners, particularly if they've been associated with Fish & Game or other wildlife associations over the years.

However, the person you really need on board is your province's Attorney General. You can contact their office through various means, but often, a letter is the most effective. Below, see a list of addresses to help you get your letter or email to the right person. Note that these addresses are only for the provinces that aren't already openly standing with Alberta. And below the addresses, see a suggestion for a letter you could send:

Deputy Attorney General
Ministry of Attorney General
PO Box 9280 Station Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9J7
Richard Fyfe
Richard.Fyfe@gov.bc.ca

Attorney General of New Brunswick
Chancery Place, Room 2078
PO Box 6000
Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1
Lee C. Bell-Smith
lee.bell-smith@gnb.ca

Attorney General of Newfoundland
Department of Justice and Public Safety
4th Floor, East Block Confederation Building
P.O. Box 8700
St. John's, NL A1B 4J6
Hon. John Hogan, QC
justice@gov.nl.ca

Attorney General of Nova Scotia
7th Floor, 1690 Hollis Street
Halifax, NS B3J 2L6
Brad Johns
justweb@novascotia.ca

Ministry of the Attorney General
McMurtry-Scott Building
720 Bay Street, 11th Floor
Toronto, ON M7A 2S9
Doug Downey
Doug.Downey@pc.ola.org

Attorney General of Prince Edward Island
Fourth Floor, Shaw Building, South
95 Rochford Street
P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown, PEI C1A 7N8
Darlene Compton
MinisterJPS@gov.pe.ca

Attorney General of Quebec
Ministère de la Justice
Édifice Louis-Philippe-Pigeon
1200, route de l'Église, 9e étage
Québec, QC G1V 4M1
Simon Jolin-Barrette
ministre@justice.gouv.qc.ca

Attorney General of Northwest Territories
P.O. Box 1320
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
Minister R.J. Simpson
justice_communications@gov.nt.ca

Minister of Justice for Nunavut
Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
926 Queen Elizabeth Way
Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0
Craig Simailak
info@gov.nu.ca

Minister of Justice of Yukon
Main Administration Building
2071 - 2nd Avenue
Whitehorse, YT Y1A 2C6
Tracy-Anne McPhee
tracy.mcphee@yukon.ca

Don't know what to say? Try something along these lines:

Hon. John Hogan, QC, Attorney General of Newfoundland and Labrador;

I am a law-abiding sport shooter and hunter, with years of responsible firearms ownership.

As I'm sure you are aware, the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have decided to oppose the federal government's impending firearms confiscation program. Alberta's reasons are laid out in the video below, but the same logic should apply everywhere in Canada. The so-called "buyback" is expected to cost Canadian taxpayers $5 billion, and will do little or nothing to deter those intent on breaking the law. It only harasses law-abiding firearms owners who have passed multiple checks by police already, and who have a long track record of safety.

In the video below, Minister Shandro says that before the 2020 Order in Council that banned a long list of firearms (including countless hunting rifles and shotguns, and many firearms intended for competitive purposes), these 1500 various types of firearms were lawfully owned by Canadians. There is no demonstrable public safety concern behind the confiscation. These are not illegal weapons used by criminals, but the resources tied up in this seizure program will be taken away from actual crime fighting.

I respectfully ask that you speak with our Premier and cabinet and ask them to take the same position and actions as the western provinces, to ensure our province's licensed firearm owners are protected from harassment, and our citizens are protected from ineffective waste of crimefighting resources.

Sincerely
XXXX

Obviously, you need to change the names and addresses to suit whichever province you're in. Also remember that it's better if you write your own letter, but at least you have a guide to work from now.