Alberta Firearms Act is the ‘fair deal’ gun owners need

By LegalMatters Staff • Many Albertans have long been critical of federal firearm legislation. That includes the proposed Bill C-21 that would prohibit the sale and ownership of many assault-style firearms. 

In response, the provincial government gave royal assent to Bill 8 at the end of March, enacting the Alberta Firearms Act.

Provincial Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says the legislation gives Alberta the tools needed to deal with what he called escalating attacks by Ottawa on law-abiding Alberta gun owners. He says the Act empowers Alberta to regulate and administer firearms while allowing the province to advocate on behalf of hunters, farmers, Indigenous people and sport shooters.

Calgary criminal lawyer Carolina Quaresma welcomes the new legislation.

“A fair deal is truly needed, instead of the federal Bill C-21, which will criminalize many hunting and sport-shooting firearms lawfully owned by Canadians,” Quaresma says. “The idea of confiscating firearms from registered and law-abiding Canadians has always been illogical.”

She notes that a report from the Department of Justice states that most of the guns used in crimes are illegally owned, with many smuggled in from the United States.

“The government should focus on halting the flow and use of illegal firearms instead of further restricting the activities of legitimate gun owners and firearms-related businesses, including 650 firms in Alberta,” Quaresma says.

While some question if Alberta has the authority to regulate firearms, she points out that British Columbia and Quebec regulate firearms outside of wildlife and hunting legislation. Saskatchewan recently introduced similar legislation.

“Firearms are part of the Albertan culture,” says Quaresma, citing provincial statistics that show there are 341,988 possession/acquisition licence holders in Alberta who can take advantage of 127 approved shooting ranges in the province