Sask. introduces Firearms Act in effort to increase gun owner rights, public safety
The Government of Saskatchewan introduced legislation on Thursday aiming to protect the rights of lawful gun owners and increase public safety.
The announcement comes as the federal government looks to introduce Bill C-21, which is legislation restricting ownership of firearms.
The province said the Saskatchewan Firearms Act will establish licensing requirements for businesses or individuals, require and oversee fair compensation for any guns being seized, and require forensic and ballistic testing of seized firearms.
The act will also establish a provincial firearms regulatory system that will promote the safe use of firearms.
“We want people in this province to be safe and secure as they possibly can,” Christine Tell, Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister said.
The Saskatchewan Firearms Office (SFO) will primarily administer the new piece of legislation, according to a news release.
"The enhanced mandate this legislation provides will expand our office's ability to promote responsible firearms use and improve community safety," Chief Firearms Officer Robert Freberg said in the release.
The government dedicated about $3.2 million this year to begin development of several firearms initiatives, including establishing a lab to support police services, establishing a committee to determine the fair market value of any guns, enhancing training and education, and launching a Saskatchewan marketing campaign to promote gun safety.
“People who are lawfully in possession of firearms, PAL owners who are heavily vetted,” Tell explained. “These people, these legal firearm owners are not the ones committing the crimes.”
NDP MLA Nicole Sarauer said their government wants to ensure it will pass through the legislature.
“Very curious to ask questions about, in particular there are some provisions in there around criminality aspects that just want to make sure this will pass constitutional musters,” Sarauer said.
Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) believe the province is doing what it can to help out rural residents like ranchers and producers.
“The ranchers, and the farmers, to people that live out in rural areas, I think the provincial reaction is warranted,” Ray Orb, president of SARM explained. “I think some of the things they are proposing will help quite a bit.”
Air-soft guns are also at risk of being banned under Bill C-21, which Strauss said is bad for business.
“As a business, you can’t take the risk of having inventory that turns into dead stock,” Strauss said.
CTV News also reached out to the federal government but have not received a response.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Legitimately flabbergasting': MP raises concerns over government's quarantine hotel spending
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is raising concerns over the federal government's spending on so-called COVID-19 quarantine hotels, calling the total spent on a Calgary-area hotel in 2022 'legitimately flabbergasting.'
Man spends 24 hours in Toronto Denny's after losing bet, raises almost $6K for charity
At first, Juan Delgado agreed to spend 24 hours inside a Dundas St. Denny’s as a consequence of losing in his fantasy football league.
Discovery in Canadian lab could help laptop, phone and car batteries last longer
A chance discovery in a Canadian laboratory could help extend the life of laptop, phone and electric car batteries.
Loblaw ends No Name price freeze, vows 'flat' pricing 'wherever possible'
Loblaw will not be extending its price freeze on No Name brand products, but vows to keep the yellow label product-pricing flat 'wherever possible.'
Woman detained in Syria says Ottawa is forcing her to make agonizing choice in order to get her kids to Canada
A woman held in a detention camp in Syria, along with her three Canadian children, says the federal government is forcing her to make an agonizing choice: relinquish custody of her kids so they can be repatriated to Canada, or keep them in the camp where the conditions are dire. Her children are eligible for repatriation but she is not a Canadian citizen.
Banff National Park cave creature exists 'no where else': Parks Canada
A cave in Banff National Park has been recognized as a globally significant location thanks to a tiny creature found inside.
Jeopardy! dedicates entire category to Ontario but one question stumps every contestant
Jeopardy! turned the spotlight on Ontario on Monday night with a category entirely dedicated to the province. One question stumped every contestant.
B.C. man facing extradition to U.S. for alleged sex crimes against stepdaughter
A Vancouver Island man is awaiting possible extradition to the United States on charges of sexual assault against his 13-year-old stepdaughter.
Toronto student’s algorithm helps detect radio signals emitting from 5 distant stars
A new artificial intelligence algorithm created by a Toronto student is helping researchers search the stars for signs of life.
Saskatoon
-
'I feel we are forgotten': Saskatoon long term care residents speak out about staff shortages
Residents of a Saskatoon care home are speaking out about staff shortages and broken equipment in their facility.
-
Saskatoon landlord expects family of man killed in apartment to clean up his blood
Thirty-seven-year-old Adam Willet was found dead in his apartment on 7th Street East in December, and his family says they are now on the hook for cleaning the suite.
-
Saskatoon healthcare workers launch petition for safer parking
The Service Employees International Union West (SEIU-West), which represents some Saskatoon healthcare workers, has launched a petition calling for safer parking.
Winnipeg
-
Arson causes $7M in damage at Manitoba business
RCMP in Headingley say a fire at a business in the RM of Rosser that caused millions in damage was a case of arson.
-
New proposed long-term care standards call for better staffing, more direct care
New standards for long-term care homes are being rolled out across Canada in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the tragedies that unfolded during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
Jeopardy! dedicates entire category to Ontario but one question stumps every contestant
Jeopardy! turned the spotlight on Ontario on Monday night with a category entirely dedicated to the province. One question stumped every contestant.
Calgary
-
First affordability payments delivered, long-term solutions needed: recipients
The first instalment of the province’s affordability payments has been automatically deposited into the bank accounts of Albertans already receiving income supports.
-
Calgary MP says Liberal government wasted millions on quarantine hotel stays
A Calgary MP says she's learned the Liberal government gave more than $6.7 million in taxpayer money to a local hotel designated as a "quarantine hotel," but only 15 people stayed there in 2022.
-
'It's a backwards move': Canada Post closes office in small Alberta town
Residents in a hamlet east of Calgary will now need to drive out of town to pick up their mail after Canada Post decided to close the community's post office.
Edmonton
-
'We want to have a voice': Community weighs in on Ritchie Boyle Street site at town hall
Boyle Street Community Services has acknowledged it has a lot of trust-building to do around Edmonton's first potential overdose prevention services south of the river.
-
Alberta promising campus changes amid university 'woke' free speech standoff
The Alberta government says changes are coming to further protect free speech on campuses as a former professor speaking out on so-called “woke” policies prepares for a showdown with the University of Lethbridge.
-
'Sheer luck': Bullets in north Edmonton shooting narrowly missed sleeping children: police
Police are asking the public for help in identifying two males involved in a shooting in north Edmonton last month.
Toronto
-
Family slams 'unconscionable' actions of TD Bank after 95-year-old woman withdraws $10K in scam
The family of a 95-year-old Ontario woman tricked into withdrawing $10,000 in the middle of a major snowstorm said it's 'absolutely unconscionable' that bank employees allowed her to take out the money without contacting her power of attorney.
-
Toronto woman faces eviction after 36 years in same home because mother dies
A Toronto woman is calling on her landlord to show human compassion and not evict her out of the place she’s lived for the past 36 years because her mother died.
-
Inmates in Ontario jails are dying at a 'dramatically' increasing rate, coroner's report shows
A new report released by the office of Ontario's Chief Coroner suggests deaths among incarcerated populations have “risen dramatically” in recent years, painting a picture of a criminal justice system that is struggling to deliver on basic human rights.
Ottawa
-
Ottawa police arrest suspect in south-end homicide
A 45-year-old man was killed and a woman was hospitalized in a stabbing at a south end apartment overnight, police said. A 37-year-old suspect has been arrested.
-
City crews working around the clock to remove snow
Ottawa is grappling with a lot of snow this winter and the city is working hard to keep up with removing it all.
-
Ottawa-area man's wheelchair lost for four days after Sunwing flight home
An Ottawa-area man wants answers from Sunwing Airlines after his wheelchair was lost for four days following a flight home.
Vancouver
-
YVR says travellers should check flight status as more snow in forecast
Delays and cancellations are a possibility at Vancouver International Airport Tuesday night, and travellers are being urged to check their flight status.
-
Flipped cars, dozens of crashes as snowfall snarls Fraser Valley traffic
A blast of winter weather made for a messy commute in the Lower Mainland Tuesday morning.
-
1 dead, 1 injured after vehicle 'lost traction,' rolled down Chilliwack embankment, RCMP say
A woman is dead and a man has been airlifted to hospital after a serious crash on a snowy road in Chilliwack Tuesday afternoon.
Montreal
-
Man accused of beating Montreal girl, 10, declared high-risk offender
A man who brutally attacked a 10-year-old girl in Montreal's Pointe-aux-Trembles neighbourhood last spring was declared a high-risk offender by a judge Tuesday.
-
WEATHER
WEATHER | Polar vortex to bring coldest air in years to parts of Quebec
So far, the winter season across Southwestern Quebec has been marked by above-average snowfall and above-average temperatures, but that is about to change. Cold, arctic air has been gradually pushing into the province.
-
Official Languages Act: MPs reject Quebec's first 2 requested amendments
The Quebec government suffered a setback Tuesday when two amendments to Bill C-13 to modernize the federal Official Languages Act were rejected after heated debate in parliamentary committee.
Vancouver Island
-
B.C. man facing extradition to U.S. for alleged sex crimes against stepdaughter
A Vancouver Island man is awaiting possible extradition to the United States on charges of sexual assault against his 13-year-old stepdaughter.
-
First Nations women overrepresented among B.C. toxic drug deaths: doctor
The top doctor at British Columbia's First Nations Health Authority says Indigenous people, especially women, are dying from toxic drugs at disproportionately high rates as the overdose crisis continues “unabated,” nearly seven years after the province first declared a public health emergency.
-
Nanaimo RCMP seek man who threw coffee at McDonald’s employee
Mounties are asking the public for help identifying a man who allegedly threw a cup of coffee at a McDonald's employee in Nanaimo, B.C.
Atlantic
-
Wind chill explained and what to expect late week in the Maritimes
A blast of Arctic air will combine with northwest gusts to make it feel like -35 degrees or colder for parts of all three Maritime provinces Friday night into Saturday.
-
Shoplifting surge: Numbers increase in Maritimes as economy sours
New shoplifting numbers from Statistics Canada show significant increases in the Maritimes.
-
Cobequid Pass closed due to overturned propane truck
A section of the Trans-Canada highway that passes through the Nova Scotia/New Brunswick border remains closed Tuesday evening due to an overturned propane truck in the Londonderry, N.S., area.
Northern Ontario
-
BREAKING
BREAKING | Sudbury school board makes decision on drag event
After putting the brakes on a planned event involving high-profile drag queens at a Sudbury high school two weeks ago, the Rainbow District School Board has made a final decision about it.
-
Blind River man charged again in ongoing neighbour dispute
Charges are being laid for the third time in connection with an ongoing dispute between northern Ontario neighbours, police say.
-
Preston Pablo of Timmins receives three Juno Award nominations
Preston Pablo, 21, of Timmins is a singer, songwriter and musician who's been nominated for three Juno Awards.
Kitchener
-
WRDSB trustee takes issue with board’s public response to 'child abuse' claim
A Kitchener public school board trustee has released an open letter of dissent, arguing a recent communication to parents from the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) may have a “chilling effect” on those who may wish to voice concerns in public forums.
-
Queen Victoria statue consultation wraps up first stage with City of Kitchener
The City of Kitchener says they have wrapped up the first phase of consultation regarding a controversial statue in a public park.
-
Brantford mayor is optimistic about OHL Bulldogs' possible move to his city
The Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) could temporarily be relocating to the Brantford Civic Centre while their home ice undergoes major renovations.