In what experts are calling “constitutional chest-thumping at its finest,” the Alberta government unveiled Tuesday a plan to defy Ottawa’s gun buyback program, branding it an “unconstitutional assault on Albertans’ sacred right to own scary-looking guns.”
Under the so-called Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act, the province claims that firearms regulation falls squarely under provincial authority and vows to “use all legal means necessary” to resist Ottawa’s efforts. The motion even invokes the Alberta Bill of Rights, which guarantees the right to acquire, keep, and use firearms, and to demand “just compensation” if the federal government dares to confiscate them.
Federal officials politely disagreed. “The Supreme Court of Canada has been clear… Parliament can regulate firearms,” said Simon Lafortune, who may now be adding a restraining order against Alberta to his résumé.
Analysts say the province’s new motion could lead to a prolonged legal showdown, or at least a very dramatic press release war.
