Overview

• Leaked audio captures Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree saying municipal police likely lack the resources to enforce the federal firearms buyback, with the Ontario Provincial Police not directly participating.
• In the House of Commons, Anandasangaree called his remarks misguided and said the program remains important to Canadians, while Conservatives attacked the plan as ineffective and politically driven.
• In the recording, he says an announcement was planned for Tuesday and describes a pilot in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, with compensation capped at about $742 million, details not formally confirmed by the government.
• The audio includes offers by the minister to cover any gap between federal compensation and the owner’s costs and to post bail if the man were arrested, and it portrays the initiative as a campaign mandate from Prime Minister Mark Carney.
• Global News verified the recording provided by a tenant who shared it with firearm advocates, as critics continue to argue the buyback will not address gun crimes largely tied to illegal weapons.