In leaked audio of a conversation with his tenant, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said he didn’t think the Liberals’ weapons ban could be enforced by municipal police.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says his comments on a recent recording – in which he said the Liberal government’s gun policies were chosen for political reasons and likely can’t be properly enforced – were “misguided.”
In the 20-minute-long leaked audio of a conversation between the minister and his tenant, Mr. Anandasangaree said the decision to ban more than 2,500 models and variants of assault-style weapons was made to win votes in Quebec.
The government is promising to buy back any of the banned weapons, even though the program is opposed by the Conservative Party and many gun organizations across the country.
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In the recording, the minister acknowledged that the gun buyback and weapons ban are being done for political reasons.
“Quebec is in a different place than other parts of Canada, right?” Mr. Anandasangaree is recorded as saying. “And this is something that [is] very much a big, big, big deal for many of the Quebec electorate that voted for us.”
The Globe and Mail confirmed the audio was recorded Sunday morning by the tenant. The two had met to discuss issues with the building, but then the conversation turned to the Liberal gun buyback program.
In the conversation, Mr. Anandasangaree said he didn’t think the weapons ban could be enforced by municipal police.
The minister even suggested that he would personally pay the difference between the buyback compensation and what the tenant paid for his gun. He also appeared to be joking when he told the tenant he would bail him out if he was arrested for not complying with the program.
In a statement to The Globe, Mr. Anandasangaree said he did not know the conversation was being recorded by an individual he had known for many years.
“I make a point to speak with Canadians who do not support our approach, to listen to their concerns and ensure they understand their options in this voluntary buyback program,” he said. “In trying to address this individual’s frustrations, my comments were misguided.”
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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre seized on the situation, telling the House of Commons that the Liberals are wasting billions of dollars on police and border resources targeting law-abiding gun owners, while overseeing a rise in violent gun crime.
“He said that the gun grab is not worth the money,” Mr. Poilievre said, referring to Mr. Anandasangaree. “But … they’re going ahead with the bad policy, because it’s good politics.”
Mr. Anandasangaree responded that Canadians want responsible gun control, referencing the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, and accused the Conservatives of being against keeping guns off the streets.
Bloc Québécois public safety critic Claude DeBellefeuille said Mr. Anandasangaree’s comments confirm what his own party believes: that the Liberals were using the gun buyback policy for political purposes and intend to abandon the program.
Tracey Wilson, vice-president of public relations for the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, said in an interview it was refreshing to hear Mr. Anandasangaree admit what her lobby group has been saying for five years – that the policy is about votes, not public safety.
“It was refreshing, but at the same time, it actually made me sad because we’re going to blow a quarter of a billion more dollars on this – and for what?” she said.
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The leaked audio begins with Mr. Anandasangaree, unprompted, saying that the government will announce on Tuesday a pilot gun-buyback program in Cape Breton, N.S. Its budget will be capped at $742-million, he said.
Mr. Anandasangaree said he was given the mandate by Prime Minister Mark Carney to complete the controversial gun-buyback policy.
“That’s my objective, right? Just put an end to this and move on with other additional criminal-justice tools,” he said, including on bail and increasing penalties for illegal and unlicensed firearms.
The Prime Minister’s Office said it had nothing to add to the comment.