Robert Freberg. (Canadian Sport Shooting Association/YouTube)

By Dominick Lucyk/ CJME News

Freberg officially appointed Saskatchewan’s first chief firearms officer

Sep 27, 2021 | 6:06 PM

Saskatchewan is taking a bit more control over gun laws.

The province has appointed Robert Freberg as its first chief firearms officer (CFO); the federal government previously appointed the Saskatchewan CFO.

It’s a position that six other provinces already have.

While Saskatchewan will still have to follow federal gun laws, the move gives Freberg discretion over how those rules are applied.

He’s a former board member of the Canadian Sport Shooting Association, he spent five years as the president of the Saskatoon Wildlife Federation and he has spent time in the security industry.

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“This is the culmination of over a year of hard work to move to a provincial firearms program that better represents the needs of Saskatchewan citizens,” Christine Tell, the province’s Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, said in a release.

“We are in very good hands with Mr. Freberg, and we are confident he will do everything in his power to advocate for responsible firearm owners in this province.”

At a news conference Monday, Freberg broke down his goals and what his position allows him to do.

For one, he mentioned wanting to work together with law enforcement agencies to figure out how best to stop criminals from getting their hands on guns.

“As well, (we’ll be) looking at the whole mental health issue and working with professionals in that area. (We’ll be) listening to their concerns and acting upon them, so we make sure that we’re not leaving firearms in the hands of people who are not using them responsibly,” he explained.

There are also things he can change around the licensing process and transportation rules.

“We’ll certainly follow the firearms regulations. It is a federal program … (We’re) obligated to enforce those regulations to the best of our ability. But … there’s other areas around education, public safety, and just enhancing recreational shooting sports that we can certainly do,” he continued.

At the end of it all, the buck stops with the federal government. However, Freberg believes his appointment could have a lot of influence.

At the news conference, he was asked whether he would try to oppose the Liberal government’s proposed Bill C-21, which has received criticism from gun rights advocates.

Freberg said he wouldn’t oppose it, but hopes he can make some changes.

“Our hope is that having a seat at the table with the federal government now where we can talk about that ahead of time, (we can) maybe put some other recommendations forward that would be more cost effective (and) maybe more effective in reducing crime, preventing domestic violence and so forth,” he said.