Report: Order in Council firearms seizures already over budget, before beginning

From the start of the federal government's Order in Council firearms bans, there's been a consistent nagging question: How much will it all cost? Back in June, we got a kinda-sorta answer on that, from the Parliamentary Budget Office, but there were still many unanswered details. Now, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has published a report that says the project is already facing cost overruns.

In December of 2020, the federal government kickstarted the OIC gun seizure process by hiring IBM to devise an action plan. At that point, the work IBM agreed to was valued at $1.1 million, with the possibility of another $396,000 for other services added, if the federal government chose to add certain tasks to the contract. The Canadian Taxpayer Federation reports the Department of Public Safety has indeed decided to add that extra work to the contract. As a result, IBM's pre-program planning has now cost $1.5 million to taxpayers.

But wait, there's more! The federal government's Firearms Buyback Secretariat has also spent close to $2.2 million so far, reports the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, split roughly 50-50 between bureaucrat's salaries and operational spending. (No doubt some of that cash was spent trying to recruit gunsmiths for the purpose of deactivation). And, once implemented, that bureaucratic bleed will continue. On top of spending up to $756 million (the government's estimate) on paying off gun owners whose firearms are seized, the government also plans for ongoing costs. The Foundation says the feds expect to pay $4 million a year to fund the Firearms Buyback Secretariat, although that office is expected to close as the program winds down.

However, we should point out that should the feds decided to seize more firearms, it's not hard to imagine a future where that office might remain open for longer than originally predicted.

This all means large amounts of money being currently spent, and much larger amounts in the future, while as the Federation so succinctly puts it: "The government has yet to buy back any guns and the program remains under development."  None of the OIC announcements have been shown to have any reduction in firearms crime in Canada at this point.

The Federation's blog update quotes Franco Terrazzano, its federal director as saying "The gun buyback is an expensive program that won’t keep Canadians safe. The feds need to scrap the gun ban and buyback, because we don’t need another ineffective policy and taxpayers can’t afford to waste more money."

It's a viewpoint that even the Mounties agree with. The National Police Federation, the RCMP's union, says the Order in Council firearms bans divert funds away from more useful crime-fighting initiatives. As per the Federation's internal documents: "The National Police Federation (NPF) supports an evidence-based approach to advancing public safety and the prevention of gun violence in Canada. To this end, we strongly advocate for government to implement appropriate enforcement strategies, best use of available resources, legal and legislative reforms, accountability in judicial actions, and proper management of financial resources to achieve and enhance public safety."