Rally against federal gun prohibitions, buyback planned for Saturday in Quebec City

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People opposed to the federal government’s firearms ban and compensation program are planning a rally Saturday in Quebec City to accuse Ottawa of unfairly singling out law-abiding gun owners.
The event will come about six weeks into the sign-up period for gun owners to declare interest in a federal program offering them money for turning in or permanently deactivating firearms that Ottawa says belong only on the battlefield.
The rally outside the Quebec national assembly also will take place just weeks after a mass shooting in British Columbia, which has led to some criticism of the timing.
Since May 2020, the Liberal government has outlawed about 2,500 types of firearms, including the AR-15 and the Ruger Mini-14.
Prohibited firearms and devices must be disposed of — or deactivated — by the end of an amnesty period on Oct. 30.
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The National Firearms Association says disarming law-abiding Canadians in the hope that criminals will somehow be affected is ideological scapegoating, not public safety policy.

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“Quebec is central to what happens next. Participation here will shape the future of this program nationwide. That is why numbers matter. Presence matters. Visibility matters,” the organization said in a statement posted on its website in support of the rally.
“If you believe lawful citizens should not be scapegoated — be there.”
An ad for the event featuring the firearms association’s logo reads, “If Quebec says no — it ends here.”
Another poster promoting the rally includes the slogan in French, “Our arms are not for sale.”

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Online messages indicate participants will arrive by bus from about two dozen Quebec communities.
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“Quebec is ground zero for the gun grab,” Tracey Wilson of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights posted on social media. “We MUST stand united with our friends and fellow gunnies in La Belle Province!! Come join me and thousands of my closest friends as we rally against the gun grab this Saturday.”
One gun rights advocate set up a GoFundMe page with the aim of raising $11,000 for the event.

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Gun control advocates, meanwhile, question the wisdom of holding such a rally just weeks after the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., that claimed nine lives.
The event, which promises flags, music and food trucks, is “incredibly insensitive and disrespectful at a time when survivors, family members, the community of Tumbler Ridge, as well as countless other Canadians are experiencing trauma and grief,” gun control group PolySeSouvient said in a media statement.
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The rally’s timing, its stated justifications and the celebratory atmosphere being promoted will be viewed as a slap in the face by mass shooting survivors and anyone whose life has been forever changed by easy access to guns, said PolySeSouvient.
“It is shameful that in the wake of this tragedy, the gun lobby remains steadfast in its efforts to prevent the successful removal from circulation of civilian versions of military weapons that are typically used in mass shootings and that have been prohibited for public safety reasons,” the group said.
In a video message posted to the organization’s website, National Firearms Association general manager Ginger Fournier says gun owners in Quebec are hunters, sport shooters, farmers, collectors, Indigenous community members and everyday Canadians who comply with licensing, training and background checks and secure storage requirements.

“They are not the problem and they should not be treated as one,” Fournier says.
In announcing the program last month, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the goal is to target only “firearms designed for war, for killing people. They have no place in our communities.”
Federal officials say some 19,000 firearm makes and models remain legally available for hunting and sport shooting in Canada.
Almost $250 million has been earmarked to compensate people who take part in the program. The government has said it expects the money will cover compensation for about 136,000 firearms.
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Owners of outlawed guns have until the end of March to declare interest.
The government says that as of last Friday, gun owners had reported more than 32,000 prohibited firearms. That includes 13,219 from Ontario, 7,368 from British Columbia, 5,539 from Quebec and 2,730 from Alberta.
“I would consider it a good start,” said Simon Lafortune, a spokesman for Anandasangaree.
The Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights says the number of guns eligible for compensation is much higher than the federal government suggests. It says that, for example, there are more than two million firearms in Canada that were previously non-restricted and are now prohibited as a result of recent bans.
Anandasangaree recently indicated the government stands by its figure and said that “a range of misinformation” has come from the gun lobby.
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Quebec supports the federal compensation program but a number of other provinces and territories — including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador — have snubbed the plan.
The RCMP and Quebec’s provincial police force will play key roles in collecting firearms eligible for compensation, but several other police services have said they will not help with the program.