Sarnia's police chief says the service will not be taking part in the federal assault style firearm compensation program.
The buyback initiative started on January 19, and some municipal police forces are offering money if the weapons are brought in.
Changes made to the Classification Regulations in 2024 resulted in the prohibition of 104 families of firearms, encompassing 324 unique makes and models.
Derek Davis said the time and resources are better used elsewhere.
"We have a lot of priorities in policing and a lot of things we need to look after," said Chief Davis. "Some of those include going after actual sources of crime and violence in our community. That's the illegal guns, the violent crime and those types of things. They're just at a much higher priority than collecting what was by all accounts up until now lawfully owned firearms by law abiding citizens."
Chief Davis said there are alternatives, noting they're not typically seeing legally purchased weapons used in crime.
"We're talking about seizing firearms from citizens that have had them lawfully registered, lawfully obtained and went through the courses," he said. "That's the demographic we're taking the firearms from, under this program. If you're looking at other alternatives, there are all kinds of things that could be looked at from better border security to increased resources in terms of technology, and buildings for police services as a local example."
To avoid charges, gun owners must safely dispose of or permanently deactivate their assault-style firearms before the amnesty period ends on October 30, 2026.
The Government of Canada has banned more than 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms since May 2020.
According to the government, over 127,000 variations of firearms, remain available for hunting and sport shooting in Canada.
The government said if you hold an export permit with Global Affairs Canada, you can choose to legally export your prohibited firearms to a legitimate customer outside of Canada, instead of turning them in or deactivating them.
It said you can call the non-emergency line of your local police for instructions on how to safely deliver your firearms to police without participating in the program.
