Nova Scotia·NewPolice in Sydney, N.S., say they are ready to open a web portal Oct. 1 and start taking appointments from owners of assault-style firearms looking to exchange their outlawed guns for money from the federal government.Web portal to open Oct. 1 to take appointments from gun owners to bring in assault-style firearmsTom Ayers · CBC News · Posted: Sep 23, 2025 6:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoCape Breton Regional Police Chief Robert Walsh says the intent of the assault-style firearm buyback program is not to target lawful owners but to reduce gun crime. (Tom Ayers/CBC)Police in Sydney, N.S., will begin taking appointments next week for people in Cape Breton Regional Municipality with outlawed assault-style firearms looking to turn in their guns in exchange for money from the federal government.Since 2020, the Liberal government has banned about 2,500 types of semi-automatic firearms with a military design and large-capacity magazines.The government has been buying unsold guns from retailers and is now looking to buy back previously sold ones from owners.Cape Breton Police Chief Robert Walsh said the intent is to make communities safer.”Gun violence is an issue,” he said Tuesday following the federal announcement of a buyback pilot project in CBRM. “It’s a concern in Nova Scotia and it’s a concern in our community, so we wanted to demonstrate that as a police service and as chief that we are doing all we can to advocate for changes that’ll help improve public safety in relation to guns.”The federal government is paying the Cape Breton police service $103,000 to administer the pilot project.Internet appointments open next weekWalsh said that will offset the cost of officers and administrative staff, plus some equipment.He said the Cape Breton police service was chosen after the government put out a call for interest and he applied.Starting Oct. 1, the police will open a web portal where gun owners can make an appointment to bring their firearm in to be deactivated.Walsh said police will then issue the owner a receipt that can be exchanged for money from the government.The chief said there are about 3,500 licensed gun owners in CBRM and about 380 of the banned firearms.He said the intent is not to target gun owners but to reduce gun crime.The Cape Breton Regional Police pilot project is intended to gauge interest from gun owners and to work out any kinks in the collection process before the buyback program goes national. (Tom Ayers/CBC)”It’s the nature of the firearms themselves being semi-automatic and potentially being rendered into fully automatic,” Walsh said. “It has potential for greater impact for like a mass attack or event.”We want to help law-abiding gun owners to remain in compliance and if this gives them an opportunity to safely dispose of their firearm, we think that that’s good for public safety.”Walsh said the pilot project will help determine interest in the buyback and will help work out any kinks in the collection process.An amnesty under the law ends Oct. 30. After that date, owners of banned guns will be breaking the law.Walsh would not say what will happen after that, but he said the amnesty may be extended until the spring to accommodate a countrywide rollout of the buyback program.CBRM Coun. Glenn Paruch, chair of the regional police commission, says the buyback program might not attract a lot of interest, but it might help reduce gun crime. (Tom Ayers/CBC)”There is talk that they may extend it and I think that’s part of the purpose of the pilot is to gauge uptake on the program and identify any problems in the collection process to see if they can make it easier for people to comply.”Coun. Glenn Paruch, chair of the Cape Breton regional police commission, said even though funding for the pilot program was announced earlier this year, he has not discussed it with the police chief.But he said the federal program is unlikely to attract a lot of interest from gun owners in Cape Breton.”Most people that own guns for recreational purposes aren’t the people that we have to be targeting,” he said.Paruch said he knows hunters and gun enthusiasts and they are not the ones police need to worry about.However, he said getting some firearms out of circulation could reduce crime.”I think it will help, but I don’t think that you’re hitting the right target.”ABOUT THE AUTHORTom Ayers has been a reporter and editor for 39 years. He has spent the last 21 covering Cape Breton and Nova Scotia stories. You can reach him at tom.ayers@cbc.ca.
Cape Breton police prepared to start firearm buyback pilot project
