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Published:November 24, 2021

-Western Standard

 

The Liberals are increasing their spending in the gun buyback to $8.8 million, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).

That figure is brought to light in the Department of Public Safety’s latest quarterly financial report.

“This is more evidence that the gun buyback is going to be a boondoggle,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director with the CTF.

“The feds haven’t bought a single gun yet and costs still continue to go up.”

Public Safety is planning to spend $1.6 million out of the $8.8 on an advertising campaign to “increase awareness” about the gun ban and buyback said the CTF in a release.

The quarterly report is the first time Public Safety has put a hard number on the buyback spending.

“Until now, the CTF tracked previous spending via access to information requests,” said its release.

Those requests uncovered a contract with IBM Canada worth more than $1 million for advice on how to run the buyback program.

The CTF has obtained a copy of that advice.

“The heavily redacted documents include IBM’s recommendations for a payment structure. They also show the company developed a list of prices based on the pre-ban prices for the affected firearms, without including the price of accessories and parts for the firearms. According to the draft plan, owners disputing the price could ask an expert panel for an evaluation,” it says.

The list of prices the Liberals will pay for each weapon appears to be redacted.

Public Safety said it’s still considering IBM’s advice.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated reimbursing gun owners could cost up to $756 million. That number doesn’t include administration costs which could add billions of dollars to the final tab.

When the Liberal Party first announced the policy, it told voters the gun buyback would cost about $200 million. In 2021, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair then said the costs would land “somewhere between $300 and $400 million dollars.”

“We continue to find more and more evidence of rising costs, and that should be a huge red flag for a government that is already more than $1 trillion in debt and hasn’t bought a single gun,” said Terrazzano.

“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to cut our losses and scrap his gun buyback.”

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the buyback program for the nearly 1,500 “assault rifle style” firearms.

Under the new regulations, these guns could not be legally used, transported, sold, transferred or bequeathed.

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