Waterloo regional police have signed onto a federal program that aims to remove assault-style weapons from Canadian households.
The Federal Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program looks to collaborate with local police services to aid in the transfer of prohibited weapons from the public to the federal government.
Since 2020, the Canadian government has banned more than 2,500 types of guns, but has put in place an amnesty period so that people can get rid of them and avoid any consequences.
Those prohibited guns include the often-publicized AR-15, the M16, the M4, and thousands more.
According to Public Safety Canada, nearly 20,000 such weapons have already been declared in Ontario, and more than 47,000 across the country. Regional police said that around 500 have been declared here in Waterloo Region.
Residents will be able to schedule a time to bring the weapons in between April and October and will receive compensation depending on the weapon, ranging from a couple of hundred dollars to as much as $10,000.
Guelph police have decided not to opt into the program, stating that the service is “committed to continuing its proactive efforts to reduce gun violence and protect the public by working with its policing partners locally, provincially and federally.”
Police in Guelph will still collect the prohibited weapons, but the owners won’t be compensated.