r/canadaguns • u/Lima-TCX • Mar 30 '26
News / Politics / Activism Withdrew from the ASFCP / Retiré du PIAFSAA
I've withdrawn from the ASFCP, and wanted to share my experience about it for anyone else considering doing the same.
Why I registered back in January:
Not looking to make excuses, just giving some context around my situation, and why I made my initial decision:
- I had two non-registered firearms affected, both were due for compensation at more or less the exact pre-tax value I purchased them for.
- I am a Québec resident, and therefore, due to the Register, the government already knew what I had.
- Also being a Québec resident, I knew I was more guaranteed than not, to actually receive the compensation.
- I was planning to use the proceeds from my reimbursement to purchase further available firearms. (I ended up purchasing two for each one banned to 'make up for it'.)
- I had also figured that in the event of a class-action lawsuit, having registered may have been a pre-requisite to claim damages.
- I was planning to paint my rifles pink before turning them in, and covering both of them with '♥ Nathalie' in white ink, to deny them any chance of a photo-opp.
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Why I decided to Withdraw:
I originally registered in a panic when it opened up, especially as I could have really used the money. Since then however, over the months that have passed, I've been feeling incredibly guilty and regretful in my decision to take part in this. I was also hugely inspired by hearing the numbers they published, and how many people had held strong in solidarity.
Additionally, and one of the most important factors; the behaviour of Nathalie Provost during the last press conference was absolutely disgraceful. She has absolutely no place in government. That ended up being the last straw for me, especially the part where she started yelling at us to 'do our civic duty'.
So Nathalie, if you're reading this, well done; you pushed me to do my actual civic duty.
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How the Withdrawal Process Went:
- I called 1-833-759-4551, selected English, and had to go through a couple robo-navigation options.
- I was first in line, and was connected to an agent within less than 1 minute.
- Upon learning of the reason for my call, the agent asked me what the reason for my withdrawal was, to which I explained it was Nathalie Provost's fault, and was withdrawing as a form of protest.
- Following that, I was simply asked for my PAL #, my name, DoB, and email address.
The agent then went away for a couple minutes, and returned to basically take me through the 'things I should know' which included (to the best of my note-taking abilities):
- My case will be moved to 'inactive', but it will not be purged from the system. However, it will be destroyed after 2 years.
- Previously-submitted information may be accessed for monitoring and tracking.
- Withdrawal doesn't mean I don't have to turn them in.
- They can be de-activated or destroyed outside of the programme.
- If the government comes asking me about my firearms, withdrawal doesn't mean I am exempt from cooperating with them.
- If my firearms are used in criminal activity, they may be traced back to me.
Once I agreed to all of this, he then left for a second very short hold of a couple min, and then returned to inform me that I can expect to receive a phone call from a representative from Public Safety Canada within 10 days to discuss further, and he gave me a case number to use with them.
He then asked me which province I was calling from, and that was the end of the call.
I timed it from start to finish, it only took 13 minutes total.
The agent was absolutely lovely, super professional -- overall really a 10/10 experience on that front.
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Conclusion
If you are in a similar position to me, please consider doing so; its not too late! It was a genuinely super easy and painless process.
The prospect of losing the cash hurts, but what hurt more was, over the past months, knowing I didn't do the right thing.
With the absolutely catastrophic participation, and the upcoming Supreme Court Challenge, we have a better chance than ever.
In any case, no matter what happens, see y'all at the range. 🍁
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u/ant_accountant Mar 30 '26
Wow, nicely done on going through with the withdrawal process. Thanks for typing it up to tell others what they can expect!
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u/R4ID on Mar 30 '26
Additionally, and one of the most important factors; the behaviour of Nathalie Provost during the last press conference was absolutely disgraceful. She has absolutely no place in government.
agreed
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u/swift_gilford Mar 30 '26
the behaviour of Nathalie Provost during the last press conference was absolutely disgraceful.
So Nathalie, if you're reading this, well done; you pushed me to do my actual civic duty.
the agent asked me what the reason for my withdrawal was, to which I explained it was Nathalie Provost's fault,
Based.
Hoping others (if not all withdrawals) cite this exact reason so her actions alone will be a recorded as a leading reason for the failure of the program. It's an expected thing to blame the party for the shortcomings, it is a very different thing to cite an exact person - and the biggest proponent of it no less.
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u/Lima-TCX Mar 30 '26
Yes this was hugely important to me. When I speak with Public Safety Canada when they call me, I will be citing her as the exclusive reason why I withdrew, and that she, and her actions are the sole reason for me prioritising contributing to programme failure over compensation, They need to learn she needs to GTFO and that she's doing more harm than good.
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u/boozefiend3000 Mar 30 '26
Good man! Hilarious you have to take a call from public safety, like, why? lol
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u/Lima-TCX Mar 30 '26 edited Mar 30 '26
Although I hate being on standby for a random call on a random day, I'm actually very glad to be able to chat with them. I naively think any chance for feedback to them will be productive in making its way up the chain and potentially shaping policy.
In addition to telling them my actions are all Nathalie's fault, I'm also happy to tell them their administration lost my federal vote last election exclusively over this file, and their stubbornness and refusal to follow the science, and that all they would have to do to get it back is to cancel this gongshow.
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u/Late_Winner6859 Mar 30 '26
Personally, I'd also mention compensation being unfairly low (and that's before magazines, accessories, tooling, and opportunity cost of money over several years). Plus the fact that it is not even guaranteed. Multiplied by obscure timeline of when and how you would be receiving it (aka very badly organized program).
They need to realize how insanely expensive this mess is going to be for them. And it would only be getting worse, the longer they drag it out
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u/Lima-TCX Mar 30 '26
This is a really good point, because this was one of the things they pledged from the start, and then completely broke their promise on.
What's a bit tricky however, is that in my specific case, I was going to be fairly compensated, so I will probably keep my messaging to them laser focused.This is absolutely something someone else withdrawing, and who is heavily affected by this aspect should bring up though. Because you're completely right, it is likely a huge factor in non-compliance. TBH beyond fair price, and beyond accessories, I also still can't get over the "compensation is not guaranteed". It's just unreal.
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u/Late_Winner6859 Mar 30 '26
That’s reasonable, sure. Though didn’t you mention “pre-tax price”? It’s not fair then, since you were still losing money. You should be “made whole” for it to be fair.
*The argument that it is now a used gun is invalid, since you are not selling it on the used market. Instead, you are having it “bought back” (in their own words), which implies a full reimbursement of your costs
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u/Lima-TCX Mar 30 '26
Yeah :/ the 'tax spent' on each not being included in the compensation, is also a bit of a slap. But also one of the more minor elements compared to much higher costs like ammo bought for the rifle, bespoke accessories, etc.. I don't disagree with you at all, just a question of picking battles for maximum impact.
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u/Ok-Lecture4380 Mar 31 '26
Thank you for your courage, especially you being in Québec, vous avez fait une bonne decision! They promised in 2020 that they would compensate everyone for all of the banned firearms and fairly, then they said they capped the spending on the program and would potentially only compensate people for 152,000 firearms which then changed to even less at 136,000 firearms, there’s about 1.5 to 2 million firearms when you combine the restricted and non restricted firearm models that they banned that are now paperweights that can’t be used, so they went from saying they would pay for 100% of the firearms banned to about 6.8% of them and on top of that compensation is NOT guaranteed. Liberal governments have grandfathered firearms in the past on more than one occasion, they could save tax dollars and resources by grandfathering and use those tax dollars to fund our military and law enforcement to stop illegal firearms from from entering our country and go after the criminals and gangs that use these illegal firearms that get smuggled into Canada, there’s just no common sense or logic behind the choices our current government is making, it’s all political and none of it for public safety!
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Mar 30 '26
[deleted]
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u/MasterScore8739 Mar 30 '26
Honestly… yes share the call for the laughs, but also to show how it’s actually going.
Imagine someone representing the government calling and trying to essentially bully a person into a ln using a government system, never mind one that’s as flawed as this one.
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u/steve_simpson Mar 30 '26
I recorded my call with ASFCP for the CMA factor. Also as proof of how aggressive they are if I ever feel compelled to publish to a news site.
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u/thxxx1337 Mar 30 '26
For every gun they confiscate, I guarantee it'll be at least 1 more gun purchased afterwards. That's the part they never tell you. Butbacks never work.
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Mar 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/conanap Mar 31 '26
Yeah I only had a single gun before. Once they announced bans, I’ve purchased 6 more, with one more coming (and it’s a pistol!).
I also got 3 more people into shooting, whom got their RPAL after, and my brother in law in the US interested in gun ownership. I’ve educated a handful more about what the government is doing with regards do guns, its unfairness, and its ineffectiveness - all of whom agree (note: I didn’t shove this down their throat; I only mentioned these things when they ask about it, although often it was questions about buying pistols, wanting to shoot cool military guns, etc that lead them to question why they can’t do it).
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u/IGnuGnat Mar 31 '26
How did you manage to buy a pistol?
I have my RPAL and I decided not to buy a revolver before the freeze.
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u/IGnuGnat Mar 31 '26
Nathalie Provost and chipmunk will go down as the greatest gun salesmen ever in the history of Canada, or maybe the second greatest next to Trudeau. Every time they flap their gums, the guns fly off the shelves into the eager waiting arms of Canadians
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u/TescoValueSoup Mar 30 '26
Yeah but when announcing the buy back starting in January with Gary the QC safety minister Lafrenière told people not to do that, because they'll just ban those too.
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u/Due-Candidate4384 Mar 30 '26
This is based. You fucked up (understandable, there is a lot of pressure) but you went back and did the right thing and we’re all better off for it. Imagine if Liberals ever did that.
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u/thecoolernameistaken Mar 30 '26
I’m wondering if this is the move for people with restricteds
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u/613mitch Mar 30 '26
Based on the numbers so far, there's far more people with restricted firearms not even signing up. As far as I am concerned, the most sensical move is not even partake. That being said, I am lucky to be in a situation where I am not in need of the money.
Good on OP though for withdrawing.
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u/cstevens780 Mar 30 '26 edited Mar 30 '26
I have a restricted and I won’t be signing up. By signing up, that gives the government permission to say you accept and agree with this program. I do not and will not agree with this farce. When Oct 31st rolls around I will be compliant to the law but I will not be a statistic in favor of this program.
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u/rastamasta45 Mar 30 '26
The government number on restricteds was 152,000, they are only offering money for 136,000 (allegedl). Meaning as of 3:50pm EST 57,700 / 152,000 have been declared. Assuming they are alllllll AR’15 they only got 38%. If we use their compensation number it’s 42%.
So they’re not even at half the restricted rifle or compensation number. Just AR15’s alone they are sitting at around 53%.
Now throw in NR guns which no one knows. This is just a fucking joke.
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u/TechnoMillwright Mar 30 '26
All the Gun owners who have restricted turned prohib in this ban are the REAL front line soldiers in this fight IMO and need to be commended. For them this fight is ALOT more serious then "they don't know what you have if you don't tell them", as most gun owners think they are giving the government the middle finger by not telling them. Don't get me wrong, they are doing their "civic duty" and helping stand with the cause but these gun owners who have restricted turned prohibs are ACTUALLY giving the government the middle finger. As for them its "you know what I have but Im not handing it over, FUCK YOU"
Again severely need to be fucking commended!!!
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u/Steelringin Mar 31 '26
I have a restricted turned prohib. I'd rather turn it into swarf than have them buy it off of me, with my own money, for pennies on the dollar. If I can't have it then they sure as fuck can't!
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u/China_bot42069 Mar 30 '26 edited Mar 30 '26
Yea I’m in the restricted boat. If public safety does a follow up call I’ll gladly fall on the sword for non fudds owners. Just to give them idea of what provost has done.
Edit: haven’t declared. But will spin plates if it helps our cause
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u/boozefiend3000 Mar 30 '26
Time to pull out, sir.
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u/China_bot42069 Mar 30 '26
I never declared. I’d rather see her at the bottom of the ocean than in the hands of a provost pirate
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u/BilboBaggSkin Mar 30 '26
Or people with very expensive guns. It’s easy for me to sacrifice my $1500 ar15. If I had a gun that unpaid 5k for id probably turn it in too.
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Mar 31 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BilboBaggSkin Mar 31 '26
Yeah that’s fucked man. Really sad people aren’t getting compensated. If the government had a brain we could have a great system where people can own anything.
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u/Disclosjer Mar 30 '26
They’re offering $550 for a LTAC Raven. Delusional lol.
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u/BilboBaggSkin Mar 30 '26
Yeah it’s fucked. Just going to chop up my upper and lower and keep what I legally can.
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u/3202supsaW Mar 31 '26
I allegedly have a raven 9mm and 5.56. Not sure if they are offering 550 per receiver or for the whole gun - I deleted the email immediately and never even thought about registering. I bought the gun 9mm and bought the 5.56 kit as soon as it was available, the whole thing was around 3-4k. No way I'd take 550 or even 1100. They can go fuck themselves
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u/3202supsaW Mar 31 '26
I have a restricted. If October 31 comes and they haven't extended the amnesty I intend to smash it to pieces with a sledgehammer, weld and cut it as necessary, and then call and report the destruction while refusing to provide ANY evidence of it. I am in compliance with the law as I do intend to legitimately destroy it if necessary but they will be left wondering if I actually did destroy it.
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u/Inevitable_Edge6857 Mar 30 '26
It’s pretty clear Nathalie Provost has a personal vendetta against firearms owners and all firearms, not just “assault style patrol carbines” whatever you want to call them. Her trauma from 1989 and her actions this far is exactly the reason she shouldn’t be in government.
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u/Oilmoneyy Mar 30 '26
Thanks for being so transparent and hope this inspires others to do the same.
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u/Spydude84 Mar 30 '26
Based. Especially knowing that you've essentially already put them on a registry and can't really withdraw that.
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u/LongRoadNorth Mar 30 '26
They're from Quebec. It was registered regardless
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u/Spydude84 Mar 30 '26
Ah true. Though one is federal and one is provincial. Whether or not that makes a difference is yet to be seen, but you are completely right.
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u/steve_simpson Mar 30 '26
My experience with the compensation program: I created an account out of curiosity with no intent to submit a declaration in the first few days. I then tried to have my account scrubbed by calling in. During this process, the woman quite forcefully asked “what is your reason for wanting to be removed”. I asked her “do I need a reason?” At which point she said “yes, what is the reason.” - quite forcefully I might add. I fought with her to get passed over to her supervisor, but it would appear that the low level staff are told to glean extra info from people who want no part. Not only that, but they will also retain all of your information for 2 years even if it’s marked inactive. When you try to have your account scrubbed they also make you verbally agree to a series of terms and conditions.
En francais:
Mon expérience avec le programme de compensation : j’ai créé un compte par curiosité, sans intention de faire une déclaration dans les premiers jours. J’ai ensuite tenté de faire supprimer mon compte en appelant. Au cours de cet échange, la personne au téléphone m’a demandé d’un ton assez insistant : « Pourquoi souhaitez-vous être radié ? » Je lui ai demandé : « Ai-je besoin d’une raison ? » Ce à quoi elle a répondu : « Oui, quelle est la raison ? » – toujours avec insistance, je dois le préciser. J’ai insisté pour parler à son supérieur, mais il semblerait que le personnel subalterne soit incité à soutirer des informations supplémentaires à des personnes qui ne souhaitent pas participer. De plus, ils conservent toutes vos informations pendant deux ans, même si votre compte est marqué comme inactif. Lorsque vous demandez la suppression de votre compte, ils vous font également accepter verbalement une série de conditions générales.
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u/Top_Importance6216 Mar 30 '26
Given what the "consequences" are theres literally no reason for anyone else not to do the same.
good for you.
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u/RiskClassic889 Mar 31 '26
Félicitations! What is strange to see is the SILENCE of Carney about a MP (Provost) having a total meltdown and no action from him.
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u/boozefiend3000 Mar 31 '26
Makes no difference. He’ll just say he still backs her like he does when any of his MPs fuck up
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u/RiskClassic889 Mar 31 '26
We may have to stop being silenced about the fact that the current leader of CPC is not the man for the next election. Not normal being so low in polls after all those libs years. CPC need a fresh start.
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u/Foreign_Active_7991 Mar 30 '26
Please record the call from Public Safety just in case there's some good information/dirt to be shared, other than that fucking based and good job mate.
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u/steve_simpson Mar 30 '26
I recorded mine and can vouch for everything he said. They forcefully ask you why you are withdrawing, you have no obligation to give a reason.
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u/thewindchimes Mar 30 '26
CCFR Supreme Court Case deciding the be heard is also a huge consideration that wasn't there at the start of buyback registration. The case won't be decided on for months, and who knows how the decisions will impact us. Good call and thank you for documenting the process for others.
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u/Interior_Minister Mar 30 '26
‘expect to receive a phone call from a representative from Public Safety Canada within 10 days to discuss further, and he gave me a case number to use with them.’
that will be a surprise as others who were told for a callback to provide a value have yet to get a call well after the 10 day window they self prescribe. PS seems like BS or they ran outa money for compensation!
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u/Canadian-gun-nut Mar 31 '26
Honestly? I salute 🫡 you. One for realizing your mistake and 2 for admitting it to yourself and others then proceeding to do whatever you can to fix it. I get it, I really do.. and united we cannot fall no matter what they try. The name of that office btw makes my blood boil. “Public saftey” that quite literally have done nothing in the past decade EXCEPT eroding public safety to absolute 3rd world levels and then banning sport and hunting firearms that commit almost zero crime and owned by the most law abiding citizens in the country. And now we have basically collectively told them to go f*ck themselves
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u/HappyCan7250 Mar 31 '26
90% of the guns on the list have literally NEVER been used in a crime in the history of Canada, and a lot of them have probably never even been used for a crime in the US. there's literally prototype models on the list that were only drawn up as blueprints decades ago. Some of the guns banned probably number in the single digits in the entire country, only in the hands of very dedicated, wealthy milsurp collectors.
SVT40 is a dangerous assault rifle, but SKS is all good? Fucking insane government.
I remember getting into an argument on Reddit a while back with some guy supporting the bans, and I tried to explain to him "high capacity" is non-existent. I tried explaining the M1 Garand holding 8 big 30-06s, remains legal and totally fine to Sport shoot or hunt, but an AR firing the tiny little 223, considered by most to even be inadequate for deer, neutered to 5rd, is apparently somehow deadlier than an M1 loaded up with 8 30-06s?
There's literally no sense to this. The Ministry of public safety is the biggest joke, and they could care less about public safety. I genuinely cannot think of a single thing PS has done for the safety of Canadians. Still no bail reform, after a whole year in power.
Public safety has done more to actually make Canadians unsafe through complete negligence and incompetence.
I honestly can't believe Canadians put up with this. Like how long have the Liberals been screaming in the house "we have a bail reform bill coming!". Well fucking do it you morons!
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u/Canadian-gun-nut Mar 31 '26
The liberals just killed 4 VERY VERY important bills with the most notable one being jail not bail.. but let’s not forget the bill that would’ve made sure child sex offenders get consecutive sentences or the bill that would’ve made the yearly parole hearings for murderers stop so the families of the victims don’t have to live the trauma year after year. Just this ALONE proves that this government has ZERO interest in public safety or the safety of any Canadian INCLUDING our children. This alone proves it all and we haven’t even gotten to any of the facts you had mentioned. Not to mention AR-15 has never been used in any murder in Canadian history. And all AR-15 owners are registered and have criminal checks done on them every 24 hours. Not to mention the saftey courses we go through OR thousands of other facts that prove that MOST our gun laws are completely retarded and don’t protect anyone. Not to mention that we don’t even have a legal firearm issue and never had… 90% of all firearms used in crimes for the past 3 decades + have been illegally smugglers from the US and the other 10% are just untraceable because serials are gone but we can say with very high certainty they originated outside Canada aswell. United none compliance to tyranny is the only way. That and continuing to pour every possible dollar we can to buy more and more firearms
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u/Ravens_beak224 Mar 31 '26
This was the right thing to do, our rights dont end where Nathalie's trauma begins.
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u/VeganSandwichMonster Mar 30 '26
Please update when you talk to public safety, maybe in a new thread.
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u/saneboy Mar 31 '26
Thanks so much for posting this. I hope others do the same, and the program's final numbers are worse than their previous ones. Hooooooooooooooooooooooold.
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u/nejnedau Mar 31 '26
and any conversation you have with govt is recorded folks,, and will be held against you,, Knew a guy that called a rev Can agent a bad word.. His govt access to anything got shut down,, went to his MP who found out he offended a call center agent and until he apologized he was blocked from all access to govt online .
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u/Xaxxus Mar 31 '26
Do you know if you can withdraw after the mar 31 deadline?
Or is that all locked in?
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u/Lima-TCX Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26
Yes you can withdraw until the very moment they are collected! It's not too late!
As per the Terms and Conditions document for the ASFCP:
You can withdraw your consent from the program until firearms are collected. After collection, the application cannot be withdrawn and will be processed fully. To withdraw consent, contact the program’s Contact Centre 1-833-759-4551. Upon receipt of your request, the application and consent to use the provided information will be considered withdrawn.Source (Page 2, Point 8): https://firearmrights.ca/withdraw-from-the-asfcp/
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u/EatAllTheShiny Apr 01 '26
Can you follow up with how your call from Public Safety goes, too?
Edit: Proud of you for standing up, too.
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u/Brilliant_Juice2421 Apr 02 '26
Proud to be part of the 98% welcome to the non compliance club my friend
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u/robscigs Apr 02 '26
If one of the reasons you complied was that you needed the money and in the same breath you were going to use the proceeds to acquire 2 other firearms, doesn’t jive. I think you changed your mind after the Supreme Court’s decided to take it on. It would’ve been better if you didn’t comply at all like the majority. Power in numbers. My two bits.
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u/Lima-TCX Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
I'm happy to take flak for signing up to begin with, I didn't expect anything less when I wrote this post.
With that said, I don't appreciate you making false accusations about my motivations, and taking stabs at the distribution of my personal budget.
It's not because I backfilled the arsenal that expenses in other areas of my life weren't affected, and sacrificed.You are correct that indeed it would have been better if I hadn't partaken to begin with. No argument from me there.
However, without the ability to go back in time, withdrawing was the most productive thing I could do to correct it.
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u/Remarkable-Show-6367 Apr 13 '26
Good for you for withdrawing. Hold strong canada. I had a friend participate and got $1 each for 2 AR's. This is a huge violation of our rights in Canada, a major waist of our taxpayer dollars that could go to more police and border and port authorities or even better yet updating all our outdated military. The more licensed gun holders in Canada the better. Do you know why America has never been stormed by other countries? Because they know how many licensed gun holders there are. Taking away guns from civillians is like taking away the weapons for reserve army. Don't disarm us because of what criminals do. Taking law abiding guns away won't stop criminals from getting these guns in their hands.
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u/xpingux Mar 31 '26
The fact that you signed up for what we knew won't pay a God Damn thing is incredibly embarrassing.
Good for you for changing your mind, but holy fuck what were you thinking? "wow, my freedoms being infringed are worth a couple hundred at least!"
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u/Enough_Challenge7264 Mar 31 '26
Repeat after me..."from my cold dead hands" you can take my guns.
Give them nothing. Make them come take them, with force.
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u/MLI691H Mar 30 '26
One down, ~25,999 more to go.
Welcome back!