Gobel’s Firearms side entrance
Canada is currently experiencing a firearm and ammunition shortage. Owner of Goble’s Firearms Wayne Goble says this is the worst he has seen it since opening his store in 1978.
The most immediate cause starts in the United States says Goble, with our southern neighbours stockpiling and panic buying the supply.
“(President Joe) Biden’s in now he’s a Democrat, so he’s tried to bring more controls on the firearms, so that usually increases the sales. In Canada it kind of works the opposite way when we say you can’t have something, people tend to get rid of it.”
Goble says the Canadian market is thought of secondarily by suppliers even in normal times because of its small size.
“We use up maybe eight to ten per cent of the production of ammunition in the states. So down there all you got to do is have a five per cent or ten percent increase in buying and that wipes out the amount we’ve got.”
Size is not the only reason why foreign manufactures prefer to sell to the United States. Goble’s personal experience with importing weapons is a large deterrent for suppliers.
“You have to buy $20,000 to $30,000 worth of guns each shipment because they have to pay the shipping… If I’m a supplier in the States I’m going to look at that it’ll cost me six per cent more to send to Canada, so am I going to send it to Canada or supply the domestic market?”
The financial cost does not account also for the complications of customs and transport times. These are extra burdens American manufacturers have little motivation to navigate.
One might ask about the domestic production of Canadian firearms and ammunition; however, Goble says that is practically nonexistent. Red tape and the American’s strong preference for ‘made in America’ have all but killed the industry.
“If you go back before free trade, CIL (Canadian Industries Limited) was protected and Winchester and Remington both came into Canada with manufacturing or packaging facilities so they could go around the duty… Now with free trade its just the scale of consumption, we just don’t use enough.”
The other point of interested for Goble is the federal purchase ban on handguns. He argues this legislation is responsible for eliminating a quarter of the nations supply of firearms.
Most companies that would be 20 to 30 per cent of their business that is gone. Plus, the accessories and ammunition.
The federal government imposed the ban to reduce handgun violence throughout the nation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this when introducing the mandate.
“Canadians have the right to feel safe in their homes, in their schools, and in their places of worship. With handgun violence increasing across Canada, it is our duty to take urgent action to remove these deadly weapons from our communities. Today, we’re keeping more guns out of our communities, and keeping our kids safe.”
Goble sees the legislation differently, saying that it only targets legal and responsible handgun owners.
“In Canada it’s not a right, it’s a privilege… and handguns, that’s a privilege I don’t want to lose. I’ve owned a handgun since I was 15. To penalize me because of other people, that’s wrong.”
One other strain on Canada’s firearms industry was effects from the pandemic according to Goble. Many in the industry seized the opportunity to retire, and supply chain issues have also caused difficulties.
“Weatherby Firearms is trying to get wood. In Italy where they get most of their wood the village was half wiped out by Covid, so they cannot source wood to build their guns with wood stocks.”
Gobel was not optimistic about the situation getting better any time soon. He says more public awareness is needed for positive change to occur.
“In Canada we’re our own worst enemies because we always preach to the choir instead of going to your neighbour and just having a conversation.”
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