Feds seeking private consultant to design, run firearm buyback program

OTTAWA — The federal government is turning to the private sector to design and run a massive buyback of newly prohibited firearms.

Public Safety Canada has invited 15 consulting firms to come up with a “range of options and approaches” for the planned program to compensate gun owners.

The Liberals outlawed a wide range of firearms in May, saying the guns were designed for the battlefield, not hunting or sport shooting.

The ban covers some 1,500 models and variants of what the government considers assault-style weapons, meaning they can no longer be legally used, sold or imported.

The government proposes a program that would allow current owners to receive compensation for turning in the designated firearms or keep them through an exemption process yet to be worked out.

The first phase of the tender would require the successful bidder to come up with a compensation plan for each affected firearm. The federal government is turning to the private sector to design and run a massive buyback of newly prohibited firearms.

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