Halifax’s municipal police chief says the force is participating in the federal government’s buyback program for banned guns, a week after Nova Scotia’s premier said he believed the province would be “staying out” of the project.

Since 2020, Ottawa has banned some 2,500 makes and models of what the government calls “assault-style” firearms, arguing they are designed for warfare — not hunters and sport shooters.

A buyback program is being rolled out to compensate gun owners, but it has faced backlash. Multiple provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and Alberta, have declined to take part, as well as the Ontario Provincial Police.

Last Wednesday, CBC’s Power & Politics asked Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston whether “provincial police and municipal police” would participate in the program and recovery of banned firearms.

“I think we’re staying out of that one. I think there’s lots of things police officers can be doing, and law enforcement can be doing, we’re seeing that, and I’d rather them focus on that,” Houston said.

Houston said it appears the program will be “ineffective” in improving public safety, and pointed to the recent pilot in Cape Breton Regional Municipality where 25 guns were collected and destroyed. Officials were hopeful they would collect some 200 firearms.

But on Monday, Chief Don MacLean of Halifax Regional Police (HRP) told the municipality’s board of police commissioners that the force will take part in the buyback program.

MacLean said while he could not speak to Houston’s comments, he knows the PC government’s position has been that it does not want provincial resources involved, “which has nothing to do with me.”

The chief said Halifax police will use rotating off-duty officers for the program, and the federal government will pay for their time at no cost to the city. MacLean said he does not expect the program to impact front-line resources.

“It’ll be about as much a drain on our resources as policing the Mooseheads at the [Scotiabank] Centre, over the period of months,” said MacLean, referring to the city’s QMJHL team.

On Tuesday, HRP said in a news release that gun owners must declare online their intent to participate in the compensation program by March 31, 2026.

After that, eligible participants will be able to schedule an appointment for collection of their firearms by Halifax police this spring. Compensation will be co-ordinated and administered by the federal government, the release said.

It said the buyback program “is not about criminalizing” gun owners, but ensuring people have the support they need to comply with new federal laws.

A spokesperson with HRP said Tuesday the federal government will pay $650,000 for the force’s operational costs for the program.

This does not include money the government expects to give out in compensation.

MacLean said he respects that people may disagree with the firearms prohibition or the compensation program.

But he said while he knows most gun owners “do not have a malicious intent to misuse their firearm,” he believes the Halifax Regional Municipality would benefit from having fewer guns in communities. He said this reduces the chance that they can be “misused, stolen, or diverted into criminal activity,” and noted the epidemic of intimate partner violence that Nova Scotia is dealing with.

“Some of the most tragic examples of gun violence in our province were incidents of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse,” MacLean said in the release.

“As Police Chief, I believe I have a duty to victims, survivors and all citizens in HRM to support any initiative that can reduce the presence of firearms in our communities.”

On Monday, CBC News asked Houston’s office about his reaction to Halifax police’s involvement in the program, and why he said police forces in the province would not participate.

Catherine Klimek, spokesperson for the premier’s office, said in an email that public safety investments should be meaningful actions that deliver measurable results, and “focus on those who commit crimes, not licensed law-abiding gun owners.”

Klimek said the provincial government will not be participating in the buyback program and “no provincial policing resources will be used to support the program.”

The Nova Scotia RCMP act as provincial police.

But Halifax has an integrated policing system that is unique in Canada and includes the Halifax RCMP.

Chief Supt. John Duff, officer in charge of Halifax RCMP, told the police board Monday that the Mounties will have federal resources dedicated to the buyback program and no local on-duty resources are needed.

But Duff said he is still waiting to hear from the national RCMP on exactly what role the Halifax RCMP will have.

“I’m thinking ultimately we’ll be able to work with HRP to make it a success,” Duff said.

The RCMP and Quebec provincial police, along with the Cape Breton, Halifax and Winnipeg police services, have so far agreed to take part. 

The amnesty period for possessing the banned guns has been extended several times. The latest deadline is Oct. 30, 2026.

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