Public Safety carrying on with rifle buy-out despite barrage from gun owners By Tim Naumetz. Published on Dec 22, 2020 12:04pm Public Safety Minister Bill Blair (Andrew Meade/iPolitics) Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s department is drafting yet another request for procurement offers to get a key element of the Liberal government’s firearm ban on track after a fierce Twitter onslaught by gun owners who hate the prohibition. It will be the third attempt to kick-start a program that would establish a buyback system allowing thousands of semi-automatic rifle owners to be reimbursed for the loss of their sport rifles.