Once upon a time, there was a provincial justice minister who abhorred a new, far-more-expensive-than-originally-quoted federal gun program that infringed upon the lives of private citizens. So, he decided not to enforce any of it.

I’m not referring to Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery and his move against federal gun seizures on Wednesday, which signalled to all provincial entities that they should not participate in the buyback program. This is about a group of justice ministers in the early 2000s who refused to play ball when it came to the federal long-gun registry.

It turns out that provincial resistance against federal firearm crackdowns is somewhat of a tradition in Canada, and it provides some optimistic foreshadowing for Alberta.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

See Full Page