Nunavut in the dark on gun buyback program as deadline looms

Facing a March 31 deadline for people to be compensated for turning over their banned guns under the federal government’s buyback program, the Government of Nunavut still hasn’t been told how the guns are to be collected.

“We have not had a lot of communication with Public Safety Canada around the issue,” said Andrew Blackadar, Nunavut’s assistant deputy minister of public safety, in an interview Tuesday.

The GN has not been in contact with the federal government on the buyback program since the end of summer 2025.

At this point, there is no formal process in place for Nunavummiut to turn in their guns, Blackadar said.

But federal Public Safety Department spokesperson Max Watson said the department responsible for the buyback program is providing additional funding to the RCMP for its collection of guns.

Blackadar said that while hiring separate staff to handle the collection “is a model we can entertain,” the GN has not been informed how that would work.

Having more money isn’t necessarily the answer, said Chief Supt. Kent Pike, the RCMP’s commanding officer in Nunavut.

“What doesn’t change is the [human] resources,” he said.

Of the RCMP’s 25 detachments in Nunavut, nine are staffed by just two officers while six others have three officers assigned.

“So our first priority is the policing that we do in each community,” Pike said.

If a resident hands in a banned firearm at any detachment, officers will of course accept it, he added.

Blackadar, who retired as RCMP Nunavut’s commanding officer last summer, agreed resources are limited.

“We don’t want those territorial policing services [and] resources to be pulled in another direction when there are broader public safety concerns,” he said.

Other police forces across Canada are taking a similar approach. The Ottawa Police Service announced Monday it would not participate as a collection site for guns. Police in Kingston, Ont. announced a similar position in February.

Assault-style weapons on the government’s banned list are typically designed to be used on the battlefield, not for hunting as most guns owned in Nunavut are.

The assault-style firearms ban was introduced by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in May 2020. It included an amnesty period for owners to deactivate, destroy or hand in their guns.

A plan announced in January by Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree gives owners until March 31 to register and be compensated for weapons they hand over.

No compensation will be provided after that date, but owners will still be required to hand in or deactivate their firearms before the amnesty period ends Oct. 30.

People who still own a banned firearm after Oct. 30 risks losing their permit to possess and buy firearms and could face criminal liability.

The federal government’s database lists approximately 2,500 guns that have been banned since 2020 and are included in the buyback program.

The government will pay as much as $9,945 for an EDM Arms 408 XM Series sniper rifle, and as little as $150 for a Steele-brand G M GM16 gun.

Public Safety Canada estimates there are 124 assault-style firearms in the territory.

As of Feb. 20, there have been 10 have declared by their owners in Nunavut, according to the federal government’s website.

On Jan. 9, the federal government announced it will provide Quebec $12.4 million to support a similar buyback plan in the province. No similar announcement has been made for any other jurisdiction in the country, including Nunavut.