Beginning next week, people in the Halifax area can trade their guns and ammunition for transit tickets.
The new two-week gun amnesty program is in response to a recent rash of gun violence, although there seems to be little evidence that it will reduce violent crime.
Anyone who hands in an unwanted firearm will be given 50 bus passes.
Despite several councilors calling the incentive a joke, Halifax Regional Council unanimously agreed to begin the program on Monday.
“Which allows people to come forward, that maybe have a gun, that they're concerned about and that they're actually able to bring forward that they're not then penalized,” says HRM councillor Jennifer Watts.
It's not the first time an incentive like this has been tried in the HRM. A 2009 program called ‘Pixels for Pistols’ offered residents an incentive of a digital camera. That program brought in more than 1,000 guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.
“That was an effort to try and encourage more citizens who had unwanted firearms to turn them in for destruction, and certainly the most significant amnesty we've had,” says Halifax Regional Police Staff Sgt. Scott MacDonald. “There's no doubt at all that when a gun is turned in, that particular gun cannot be used in the commission of the crime.”
In 2015, more than 500 firearms were collected across the province, without any incentive.
Critics say bus tickets are not enough to make a difference in the lives of people involved in gun violence.
“For the rural residents, it would have no benefit of bus tickets. That's why I think a cash option would be much better,” says HRM councillor David Hendsbee.
HRM public safety staff admit this is not a miracle solution.
“Data shows us that gun amnesty programs don't necessarily take care of the violence,” says HRM public safety advisor Ted Upshaw.
And in light of recent violence, councillors say they want to show they’re doing everything possible.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritche.
