The provincial government is introducing legislation to further push back against federal firearm restrictions.

Bill 8, the Alberta Firearms Act, will better define the role of Alberta's chief firearms officer (CFO) and will enable the province to introduce its own regulations in response to federal firearm legislation.

With respect to the CFO, Justice Minister and Attorney General Tyler Shandro says the proposed act would "elevate the responsibilities and legal mandate of the office to the fullest extent of the law"

The CFO would work with gun owners and gun-related businesses for advocacy, and would be required to submit annual reports to "show accountability and raise awareness for the office's work."

Shandro also describes how the act would allow the province to implement regulations where and if needed. Examples given include regulating who can take part in firearms seizures, and the creation of a Firearms Compensation Committee.

"Regulations could also be developed to prevent municipalities and municipal police services from entering into funding agreements with the federal government. I'd like to emphasize that none of these measures are fully developed in the act. As I said earlier, the act gives us the flexibility to quickly develop these responses and regulations to respond to the federal government's actions."

The UCP's efforts to combat federal gun legislation span several years, with the Alberta government claiming restrictions and gun grabs serve only to target law-abiding gun owners and missing the mark when it comes to the roots of gun violence.

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