The provincial government is starting a new Alberta Firearms Advisory Committee.
The committee has representation from a wide range of gun owners including the President of the Alberta Hunter Education Instructors’ Association, a member of the 2016 Canadian Olympic shooting team, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran and a former Calgary Police Chief.
The province also announced Wednesday it will be establishing a provincial firearms examination unit to test guns that have been seized as evidence in criminal investigations.
Calgary Police use their own testing facility and the Edmonton Police Service is establishing its own lab but most police services in Alberta rely on the RCMP’s National Forensic Laboratory Services in Ottawa.
The province says it takes about eight months for the national lab to process a routine firearms test and the establishment of an Alberta unit will speed up that process.
Other members named to the new group include three current MLAs: Shane Getson of Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, Todd Loewen of Central Peace-Notley and panel chair Michaela Glasgo of Brooks-Medicine Hat. Glasgo says she and her eleven panel members will consult with everyday Albertans and provide common-sense solutions and recommendations to address the federal government’s firearms legislation.
Written by Tina Karst, MyLethbridgeNow.com