Canada confiscates weapons from taxpayers for Ukraine

The Trudeau administration is confiscating firearms from Canadian taxpayers and offering them to Ukraine.

Government authorities this month launched a “mandatory buyback” program that requires gun dealers to sell any prohibited firearms or parts to the government. According to CBC, the list of prohibited items is growing, with 324 makes and models added last week and more to come. Since 2020, the Trudeau administration has declared over 2,000 firearms illegal.

Some of the confiscated weapons will be sent to Ukraine for its war with Russia. Ukraine has reportedly sent Canadian officials a wishlist containing 23 types of firearms, which will be filled with unused weapons confiscated from Canadian gun dealers. By shipping only unused items, the Department of National Defence can avoid having to inspect each weapon for maintenance or safety.

“The government of Canada has committed to the Ukrainian government to identify whether some of these guns could be donated to support the fight for democracy in Ukraine,” Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said earlier this month.

The Trudeau administration has earmarked over $19 billion in aid and $4.5 million worth of military equipment to Ukraine, Rebel News reports.

“We have always listened to them and tailored our donations to best meet those needs,” said Defence Minister Bill Blair. “We've been working very closely with our friends in Ukraine to ensure that weapons that were intended to be used in combat could be made available to them. Since Russia's brutal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, Canada has and continues to make every effort to support our Ukrainian allies in their fight, to defend their territory, their sovereignty, their citizens and to win this war,” he added.

‘Not a right that you have’

Confiscation from gun dealers is only Phase 1 of the buyback program. In Phase 2, individual taxpayers will be compelled to sell their guns to the government. The Trudeau administration has so far spent an estimated $70 million on the initiative.

In 2022, the Canadian government imposed a nationwide freeze on the purchase, sale, or import of handguns. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told taxpayers that using firearms for self-protection is not a right they have.

“We have a culture where the difference is: Guns can be used for hunting or for sport shooting in Canada – and there are lots of gun owners, and they’re mostly law-respecting and law-abiding – but you can’t use a gun for self-protection in Canada,” Trudeau said. “That’s not a right that you have in the Constitution or anywhere else.”