Photo: Government of Alberta

By EverythingGP Staff

Advisory Committee

Alberta announces firearms committee and gun examination unit

Jun 3, 2020 | 1:06 PM

The Government of Alberta is taking two steps that it claims will increase gun rights in the province for law-abiding firearms owners while punishing those who use these weapons for crimes.

It was announced Wednesday morning that the provincial government has established the Alberta Firearms Advisory Committee, which will look to provide recommendations on how the province can better assert itself in areas of provincial jurisdiction, while still respecting the long history of responsible firearms ownership by law-abiding Albertans.

The committee will be chaired by Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Michaela Glasgo and will include Central Peace-Notley MLA Todd Loewen. The committee will also include a wide range of stakeholders, including co-owner of Bullets and Broadheads in Grande Prairie, Linley Coward.

“We need firearms policies that recognize and support the ability of Albertans to own and possess firearms in a lawful and responsible manner,” said Glasgo.

According to the province, the committee will give Albertans a chance to “voice their concerns over the federal government’s firearms legislation and provide recommendations on how provincial policies can best target criminals while respecting law-abiding gun owners.”

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It was also announced Wednesday that the province has created the Alberta Firearms Examination Unit, which will move to “on shore” the examination of firearms to provincial laboratories to speed up testing times. Currently, most police detachments in Alberta have to send these requests to the national lab in Ottawa, which can take up to eight months to complete.

“While Ottawa spends hundreds of millions of dollars targeting law-abiding gun owners, our government is investing in a firearms examination unit to conduct criminal firearms testing so prosecutions are not put in jeopardy by lengthy delays,” said Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer. “The measures we are taking today will show Ottawa that a responsible firearms policy targets criminals and illegal gun traffickers and not lawful gun use.”

Schweitzer says the province is working on a plan in partnership with RCMP, Calgary and Edmonton Police, and the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team to establish protocols for conducting firearms testing at the existing lab in Calgary and a forthcoming facility in Edmonton.