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Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says the federal government\u2019s gun buyback program will be rolled out across Canada as a report from a pilot in Nova Scotia suggests low turnout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be showing our next steps on the program as we roll out throughout the country,\u201d Anandasangaree said on Sunday afternoon. \u201cBut it is significant to say that we will be rolling the program out across Canada.”<\/p>\n
A news release from the federal government marking the beginning of the pilot in Cape Breton, N.S., said the goal was to \u201ctest program elements while collecting an initial 200 assault-style firearms.”<\/p>\n
Official results from the buyback program are not yet available, but the chair of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality\u2019s police commission, Coun. Glenn Paruch, said earlier this week he\u2019s heard police have bought back up to 22 outlawed firearms<\/a>.<\/p>\n If that number is correct, it would mean the pilot collected only a fraction of Ottawa\u2019s target. The project started on Oct. 1 and lasted six weeks, with the results being used to refine the buyback program before rolling it out nationally.<\/p>\n WATCH | Public safety minister defends gun buyback program:<\/strong> ‘I’m resolved to do my job’: Public Safety Minister | Power & Politics<\/p>\n Embattled Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree tells Power & Politics ‘I’m resolved to do my job’ as Conservatives call for his firing over comments made in a leaked audio recording on the federal gun buyback program. Anandasangaree says the comments about bailing out a gun owner who might not comply with the program were made ‘in jest’ and that the program will help lessen gun crime. <\/p>\n When asked about the pilot by CBC News, Anandasangaree said the federal government viewed it as a learning opportunity and \u201ccorrected some of the technical glitches that we had initially.”<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe the systems are operational and are ready to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Paruch wouldn’t say whether that number should be considered successful, but he was supportive.<\/p>\n “Let’s say there [were] 22 guns here out of 200. Now you take that number and you put it nationally across Canada, you’re probably going to get quite a few guns that way,” he said.<\/p>\n On Monday, Cape Breton Regional Police Chief Robert Walsh said he has agreed with Public Safety Canada not to comment on the results since it\u2019s the federal government\u2019s project.<\/p>\n The pilot attracted some opposition. Shortly after launch, more than 100 people protested<\/a> outside Cape Breton Regional Police headquarters to call on Ottawa to scrap the ban and buyback program, arguing the federal government is blaming law-abiding citizens.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763939012_327_default.jpg\")
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Shortly after the pilot launched, more than 100 people rallied outside Cape Breton Regional Police headquarters in Sydney, N.S., against Ottawa’s assault-style gun buyback program. (Tom Ayers\/CBC)<\/p>\n