The Government of Saskatchewan brought forward amendments to Bill 194 that will better protect the rights of legal firearm and handgun owners within the province by limiting the ability to ban firearm and handgun ownership within the province through new local municipal bylaws.
“These amendments are proactive steps that will ensure law-abiding citizens maintain the right to safe, legal firearms ownership in Saskatchewan,” Government Relations Minister Lori Carr said. “Clear and consistent firearms ownership rules are needed to avoid a potential patchwork of regulations that will limit the rights of Saskatchewan people.”
The federal government has indicated it plans to pass legislation intended to delegate to municipalities the ability to ban handguns or other firearms.
“The Government of Saskatchewan prefers to take the position of encouraging education and safety with a focus on current enforcement efforts, while taking a tough stance on criminals who are breaking the existing laws, rather than further restricting legitimate firearms ownership by law-abiding residents,” Carr said.
The amendments were made to The Miscellaneous Municipal Statutes Amendment Act, 2019, which was originally introduced in the fall of 2019. Other amendments include clarifying municipal responsibilities when posting public notices.
Municipalities will continue to be required to publish the following items within their local or regional newspaper:
- Restructuring notices;
- Local status and boundary changes;
- Completion of assessment rolls as well as assessment notices; and
- The last day for assessment appeals.