Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) says they will take part in the federal government’s buyback program for assault-style rifles this year, but a local member of parliament says she “can’t get behind this decision.”

On Friday, WRPS said it entered into an agreement with Public Safety Canada to participate in the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program.

The federal government has banned more than 2,500 make and models of assault-style firearms since May 2020 and the program allows owners to safely dispose or deactivate these firearms before the amnesty period ends on Oct. 30.

As of March 19, more than 19,000 assault-style firearms have been declared in Ontario, according to the Government of Canada website.

Meanwhile, Kitchener-Centre Conservative MP Kelly DeRidder said the federal government’s program has “failed to deliver results” and “law‑abiding gun owners are not the ones making our streets unsafe.”

“At a time when violent crime is rising and our justice system is a revolving door, choosing to target responsible citizens instead of the real sources of danger is not just misguided, it’s a distraction from the hard work that actually needs to be done,” she said in a statement.

The federal buyback program has faced pushback and opposition from some gun owners and the Conservative Party of Canada, arguing the federal government is punishing law-abiding gun owners with a policy that won’t make Canada safer. 

The governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Yukon have also expressed opposition to the program.

WRPS Police Chief Mark Crowell said in a statement that police have “a duty to uphold the law and reduce the overall presence of illegal firearms in our community.”

“While we will continue to prioritize reducing violent crime, holding violent offenders accountable, and removing illegal firearms locally, the [program] provides a safe and responsible location for gun owners to dispose of their prohibited firearms ahead of the federal deadline,” he said.

Other Ontario police services not taking part

Police services are not mandated to take part in the buyback program and several in Ontario – including the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) – have already said they will not take part.

“The OPP does not have the capacity to collect all ‘assault-style’ firearms in the province,” OPP spokesperson Gosia Puzio said in an email to CBC News in late January.

Guelph Police Service also said it will not take part in the federal program, but will continue to accept prohibited firearms without compensation.

“The Guelph Police 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,” the service said on its website.

Police services in Windsor, Brantford, Toronto, Sudbury and Thunder Bay have all opted out of the program.

Ken Price, a spokesperson for Toronto organization Danforth Families for Safe Communities, told CBC News in January he believes police services should get on board.

“I think it’s in their interest to help gun owners come into compliance with the law. The federal government is trying to do this in an orderly way,” said Price, whose organization was formed after a mass shooting on the Danforth in 2018. His daughter is a survivor of the shooting.

“We feel good about the program, where it is, it should go forward and we think the federal government is doing the right thing.”