Alberta premier considers legal action against federal firearm ban
OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the province would be “seriously considering” legal action against Ottawa over its recent firearms ban, arguing that Albertan gun owners were being used as “scapegoats” as part of the federal Liberals’ political ambitions.
Tapping into mildly separatist sentiments on Wednesday, Kenney announced a range of measures aimed at asserting more provincial control over federal firearms regulations, as frustrations grow in some regions over sweeping new restrictions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a firearm ban on May 1 that initially outlawed 1,500 gun variants, which was immediately enforced. In the weeks since, the RCMP has banned hundreds more handguns, shotguns and rifles that it believes fall under the Liberal regulations.
Some voters, particularly those in Western provinces like Alberta and Saskatchewan, say the ban wrongly targets average Canadians while ignoring the true source of gun crime, Kenney said.
“Unfortunately there are some politicians who prefer to go after easy targets — being law abiding Canadians and their legally-obtained property — instead of focussing on the drug gangs and criminal smugglers who willfully endanger lives every day,” he said. “Such actions illustrate the huge gulf between the federal and provincial governments’ approaches to combatting crime and to responsible firearm ownership.”
Kenney said voters in Alberta had a long history of rejecting federal attempts to tighten gun control, saying the people crafting the federal policies often misunderstand the relationship between rural communities and firearms usage.
“While some people in faraway places like Toronto may not understand the reality, hundreds of thousands of Albertans use firearms as part of every day life,” Kenney said. “Those law-abiding citizens should not be used as scapegoats for the actions of criminals by politicians in Ottawa.”
We are serious about potentially coming in to support a legal action
Echoing earlier comments made by Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Kenney on Wednesday also said Alberta would consider taking intervener status on behalf of private citizens who were challenged the Liberal ban in court.