Coalition for Gun Control

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Coalition for Gun Control Applauds the Government of Quebec’s Leadership to Prevent Gun Violence

Latitia.Scarr — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:14:51 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

QUEBEC CITY, QC, February 19, 2013 – Representatives of the Coalition for Gun Control were in Quebec City today along with victims of gun violence, police, health and safety experts to applaud the Quebec government’s tabling of the Firearms Registration Act. The Actsets the foundation for the creation of a registry for the province’s 1.6 million rifles and shotguns, including the powerful semi-automatic Ruger Mini-14 used in the Montreal Massacre and the CZ-858 used in the election night shooting.

Wendy Cukier, President of the Coalition for Gun Control: “The Quebec government is stepping in to protect its citizens where the federal government is failing. Eliminating the registration of firearms has put lives at risk and undermines Canada’s ability to meet its international obligations in combatting the illicit gun trade. Registration increases accountability, therefore helping enforce the legal obligation to report lost or stolen guns, and encouraging safe storage, which will help reduce gun theft. It provides useful investigative information for police officers for firearm tracing purposes, and allows preventive action when there is a recognized risk of violence or suicide. Already, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair has noted that last year alone, gun seizures were down by nearly 40% in his force, in part because information his officers relied on is no longer available. Official documents recently obtained through Access to Information revealed that the Canada-wide long-gun registry cost just $2 million a year. And that any savings will be reassigned to compensate for the weaknesses that the loss of the registry created.”

Last spring, the federal government swiftly passed legislation ending the registration of rifles and shotguns – allowing an individual to buy as many guns as they want, including powerful semi-automatics, without any records being kept and without mandatory licence checks before their sale. In spite of pleas by police, records on the ownership of 5.6 million rifles and shotguns outside Quebec were destroyed, making it impossible for stolen guns or guns recovered in crime to be traced back to their owners. In September 2012, the Quebec Superior Court ruled in favour of the Quebec government’s request to obtain the provincial data. Ottawa has since appealed and the case continues.

The government further weakened controls by quietly passing regulations in July forbidding provinces from requiring gun dealers to maintain records of their sales of rifles and shotguns, undoing a measure in place since 1977 used to detect illegal gun sales and trafficking. Regulations on gun shows were also eliminated, which police fear when combined with the loss of the registry will facilitate illegal trafficking. The gun lobby has made it clear that these changes are only a first step.

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For further information:
Coalition for Gun Control: 514.528.2360,
coalitionforguncontrol@gmail.com, www.guncontrol.ca

The Coalition for Gun Control, founded in the wake of the 1989 Montreal Massacre, is an alliance of more than 300 organizations including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Public Health Association, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, the YWCA of Canada, the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Canadian Labour Congress, and numerous other organizations and community groups across the country. The alumni and families of the victims of the Montreal Massacre and Dawson College along with other victims of gun violence also played a pivotal role.

ATI Documents Show Eliminating Gun Registry Will Save Only $2 Million. Public Safety Costs Immense.

Latitia.Scarr — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:02:26 +0000

For Immediate Release

TORONTO, Jan. 25, 2013: Documents obtained by the Coalition for Gun Control (CGC) confirm that ending the long-gun registry which allowed police to track rifles and shotguns will save only $2 million a year.

The documents, obtained through Access to Information (ATI), show that there will be no savings to taxpayers at all. Any savings will be reassigned to compensate for the weaknesses the loss of the registry created. According to the RCMP, some of the areas this money would go included:

“Enhanced screening… for new and renewing licence clients in order to reduce (mitigate) the risk due to lack of Program contact” during gun sales.
“Provide assistance to the enforcement community on firearms tracing since NO records on non-restricted firearms will be retained in Canada.”
“Provide support to the Chief Firearms Offices in facilitating business inspections since no records will be maintained by the business community for non-restricted firearms.”

Not only will no money be saved, but Canadians taxpayers can expect the immense costs of gun violence to increase.

Criminal justice system costs will go up. Recently, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair reported that last year alone, gun seizures were down by nearly 40% in his force, in part because information his officers relied on is no longer available. In spite of pleas by police, records on the ownership of 5.6 million rifles and shotguns (outside Quebec) were destroyed, making it impossible for stolen guns or guns recovered in crime to be traced back to their owners. The documents obtained by CGC show the RCMP foresaw ”negative consequences to investigations.” A Police Executive Research Forum’s report comparing Toronto to five other American cities estimated the full costs associated with one murder incident at $5 million.
Illegal Trafficking will increase. An internal federal memo previously released through ATI warned the government that abolishing the long-gun registry could fuel illegal firearms trafficking across the Canadian border. The registry ensured gun owners and dealers were accountable for their guns. Without records of who owns rifles and shotguns or any records of long gun sales, the potential for legal guns to be diverted to illegal markets increases.
Gun deaths may increase. The Institut national de santé publique du Québec has associated the licensing of all gun owners and registration of all firearms with 250 fewer suicides and 50 fewer homicides annually in Canada. The 2006 Small Arms Survey singled out the Firearms Act for its significant impact on reducing gun death and injury, estimating the decrease in gun injuries and deaths since 1995 as saving up to $1.4 billion a year.

“The ATI documents confirm what we have said all along. Because guns are registered one time only, most of the money had been spent and little would be saved by abolishing the registry. Already we are seeing the negative impact on policing and public safety. The two million dollars they will “save” are trivial in comparison to the costs of gun violence to Canadian communities and families,” said Wendy Cukier, President.

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For further information or to obtain copies of the documents:

Coalition for Gun Control: 416.604.0209, coalitionforguncontrol@gmail.com, www.guncontrol.ca

The Coalition for Gun Control, founded in the wake of the 1989 Montreal Massacre, is an alliance of more than 300 organizations including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Public Health Association, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, the YWCA of Canada, the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Canadian Labour Congress, and numerous other organizations and community groups across the country. The alumni and families of the victims of the Montreal Massacre along with other victims of gun violence also played a pivotal role.

An Overview of Gun Control in US, Canada and Globally

Latitia.Scarr — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:06:45 +0000

The United States stands out among developed countries for being home to approximately one third of all firearms in the world and weak controls on access to firearms.

The rate of gun ownership in the US is much higher than most comparable countries, with approximately 42.8% of American household owning firearms, including 17.6% owning handguns in 2005. The developed country with the next highest ownership rate was Finland, where 37.9% of the population owning firearms, though only 6.3% owned handguns. Switzerland was the country with the second highest handgun ownership, at 10.3%, with an overall rate of 28.6% for all firearms. In Canada, 15.5% of households own firearms, with 2.9% owning handguns.

Where there are more guns, more deaths usually follow. The death rate by firearms in the United States was 10.2 per 100,000 people in 2009, for a total of 31,347 deaths. This is nearly as many as in car accidents, where 34,485 Americans died that same year. The American rate of death by firearms is nearly twice as high as the nearest other developed country, again Finland, with a rate of 4.47 in 2008. In Canada, the rate was 2.5 in 2009, while the UK had only 0.25 in 2011.

Some studies have examined the link between gun ownership rates and firearm death rates, with one comparing rates in Canada, the US, England/Wales and Australia. It concluded that 92 percent of the variance in death rates was explained by differences in access to firearms. The rates of death from firearms in Canada in the United States have also been studied, with one of the most well-known analyses being a comparison of Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia that showed that despite similarities in size and demographics, the rate of firearm homicide is considerably different as a result of the differences in the availability of firearms in the two countries.

Like with overall firearm deaths, the consequences of permissive access to firearms can also be seen in homicide and crime statistics. The US homicide rate (per 100,000) committed without guns is only slightly higher (1.4 times) than the Canadian rate. However the rate of homicide with guns in the U.S. is 6 times higher than that seen in Canada and the rate of homicide with handguns in the U.S. (2.41 per 100,000) is 7 times higher than the Canadian rate (0.33 per 100,000). The pattern with robbery is similar. In the United States, there were more than 408,000 robberies in 2009, 36 percent of them with firearms, with a rate of 55 per 100,000. In Canada, in contrast, there were 32,200 robberies, 14 percent of them with firearms, for a rate of 13 per 100,000. Yet the rates of robberies without firearms are roughly the same in the two countries. (Click on this link for table and graphs)

Global Trend on Firearms Regulations

The majority of industrialized countries have some form of licensing for gun owners and registration of firearms, and also have strict controls on access to assault weapons. Most also strictly regulate access to handguns. Few controls exist on access to these weapons in the United States, with devastating consequences. The Small Arms Survey for 2011 provides an interesting comparison of firearms restrictions on automatic and semi-automatic firearms and handguns in many countries, found in table 9.2. Of countries included in the study, only two – the United States and Yemen – treat gun ownership as a basic right. All others treat the possession firearms as a privilege.

The global consequences of weak regulations in the US have been well documented. All illegal guns begin as legal guns, with firearms purchased easily and legally in one area diverted illegally to those with more controls. According to a Globe and Mail report in February 2010, of crime handguns recovered by Toronto Police, approximately 70% originated in the US and were trafficked illegally to Canada. In 2011, Canada sent 1184 tracing request to the US for guns manufactured or imported in the country. About 38% of the guns Canadians police have sought trace data for were long guns (non-restricted). Mexico has also seen the devastating consequences of weak American gun laws. More than 68,000 people have died from guns in Mexico since 2006. Of the guns recovered and submitted for tracing, 70% were smuggled from the US, according to American government statistics. Mexican authorities sought tracing data for over 14,000 guns in 2011, nearly half of the requests being for rifles or shotguns.

An Overview of Gun Laws in Canada and the US

A principal difference in the way gun laws are administered in Canada and the US is the level of government responsible. While gun control provisions in Canada are set mainly at the federal level, with some provinces implementing additional rules on the margins, the American situation is reversed. The US federal government has set some laws, such as on background checks before handgun sales and requiring firearms dealers to maintain records of their sales, gun policies are mainly set at the state level. As such, gun control policies can vary widely across the United States and stronger policies in one state can be negated by easy access to firearms in neighbouring states. Even so, analysis shows that states with stricter gun control provisions have lower rates of death than those with lax provisions. With the elimination of a national gun registry and Quebec implementing a registry at the provincial level, Canada’s own laws may also become a more patchwork system than one with strong, uniform protections across the country.

While a patchwork system of rules in itself creates many loopholes to make access to firearms easier, even federal provisions have been designed with large loopholes that make them far less effective. While federally licensed firearms dealers are required by law to complete a background check before a gun sale, those considered to be private sellers, including those trading in high volumes at gun shows, are exempt from this provision. With an estimated 40% of gun sales falling under this category, thousands of sales are done with no checks at all. A similar loophole exists for records of sales, where federal licensed dealers are required complete a specific form with each firearm sale as well as maintain a ledger book, while private sellers are not.

Similar loopholes are being opened up in Canada. Bill C-19, which eliminated the registration of rifles and shotguns, also eliminated the obligation for sellers to validate the licence status of a buyer, with the law now requiring only that a seller have “no reason to believe” that a person does not hold a valid licence, and no requirement to even see the licence. This is a loophole that is known to have been exploited by criminals and abusive spouses in the past, such as in the case of Arlene May, where her estranged partner was able to purchase the firearm that killed her with a permit that had been revoked but the paper copy not seized.

Bill C-19 also eliminated the obligation for dealers to maintain records of their sales of rifles and shotguns that had been in place federally since 1977, which as stated above, is required even of US gun dealers. The elimination of the requirement was followed a few months later with a regulation by the federal government forbidding provinces from requiring their dealers to maintain these records. While these records are occasionally used by police with a warrant to trace guns used in crime, which requires them to manually search the paper records, their principal use is to detect illegal gun sales and trafficking. Regulations on gun shows were also eliminated by the federal government, which police fear combined with the loss of the registry will also facilitate illegal trafficking.

Influence of Gun Lobby and the Firearms Industry

The influence of the gun lobby and the firearms industry in the United States is well known, as is the related reluctance of the part of many politicians to challenge their power. The National Rifle Association, the NRA, is one of many well organized and well funded American gun lobby groups who fight any proposed restrictions on what they believe is their constitutional right to bear arms. This can include fighting against things such as restrictions on the types of weapons that can be sold, such as a ban on assault rifles, against restrictions on where concealed weapons may be carried, waiting periods, and many other controls.

In addition to fighting against gun control provisions at both the state and federal levels, the American gun lobby has also been successful in their quest to limit research that could show the effectiveness of such provisions. After research from the Centre for Disease Control showed the risks from guns, the gun lobby successfully pushed to have the agency banned from any using funds to research the gun control.

While many Canadians are horrified that groups like the NRA hold such power in American politics, few are aware of the influence of the Canadian gun lobby over politics in this country. The Canadian gun lobby has a long history of working with the NRA and other American groups.

The influence of the Canadian gun lobby was strongly in evidence this past year, in the many changes to Canadian laws they successfully pressed the government into making. One place where they exercise this influence is through the powerful Firearms Advisory Committee to the Public Safety Minister, a group composed solely of gun lobby members and other opposed to gun control provisions. After the radical recommendations coming from this committee were revealed in December 2012, the Prime Minister announced that one recommendation, to eliminate the prohibited weapons category, would not be considered, and that the composition of the committee would be reconsidered. However, other proposals, including to extend the term for gun licences from to a 10 year period from the current 5 against police advice, were still being considered, while others, such as to eliminate gun show regulations, had already been implemented.

The American situation, and the changes in Canada this past year, are a reflection of what can happen when only those with the most radical viewpoints have the ear of the government on such a complex and important matter. When police associations, public health groups, women’s safety experts and others do not have opportunities to give input into proposed weakening to gun laws, the full effect and potential dangerous consequences are not fully considered or understood. The gun lobby and the firearms industry should not be shaping important matters of public safety.

Canada postpones firearms marking regulations necessary to fulfilling our international obligations

Latitia.Scarr — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 19:27:43 +0000

While there has been no official announcement, according to members of the gun lobby, the Canadian government is expected to announce that it has postponed for at least a year the implementation of the firearms marking regulation required as under both the UN Firearms Protocol and the OAS Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms (CIFTA) that Canada has signed and were scheduled to take effect December 1, 2012. This is the fourth time that the government has delayed the implementation of this regulation.

The federal government is once again ignoring internal warnings from officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade that the changes to Canadian gun control over the past year would put the country in breach of its commitments under several international agreements to stop illicit gun trafficking. Weakening our ability to meet our international commitments could have serious repercussions for Canadians and for those in countries made more dangerous by the illegal trade in small arms. It could also affect Canada’s relations with other countries and harm the ability of Canadian law enforcement to work with their international partners.

Internationally, our partner countries are working at strengthening efforts to combat illicit firearms trafficking and at bringing themselves in line with international agreements, while Canada is instead taking numerous steps back, a fact not lost on the government or it allies in the gun lobby. According to the Canadian Press, the Canadian Sports Shooting Association, when celebrating the destruction of gun registry data on November 1st, issued a statement telling its members to “rest assured, we are the envy of international firearms advocates everywhere because Canada is almost alone internationally in rolling back gun control laws.”

Canada is in breach of international agreements such as the UN Firearms Protocol, CIFTA, the Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA) and the UN International Tracing Instrument (ITI) in two important ways:

1. Marking obligations

In October, Minister Toews proposed a revised regulation that completely dropped the UN requirements, removing the obligation to have import markings and asking instead for only a simple serial number. The government justified opting out of the UN marking requirements as the legislative changes it introduced over the past year, such as eliminating the registration of non-restricted firearms, have already severely limited the ability to trace firearms used in crime. Furthermore, the regulation to require serial numbers would have no penalty for non-compliance and the government would not be verifying that weapons were in fact marked. The proposed regulation was never tabled in the House of Commons.

In the Canada Gazette notice published on October 13^th, the government acknowledged that the original marking regulations would have filled a gap in Canadian law and that law enforcement agencies expressed support for them for public safety and national security reasons. Most countries have strict marking regulations in place and by not implementing our own requirements, Canada will be relying on the firearms industry and other countries to address a recognized gap in its public safety and national security policies.

Past statements have demonstrated the government’s awareness of the importance of markings to fulfilling our international obligations. Talking points from 2010 on the issue revealed in an ATIP request say “It is important that we have further examination to arrive at a marking scheme that contributes to public safety, meets international requirements, assist law enforcement to trace efficiently and addresses the concerns of the firearms industry.” Their importance for compliance with the Protocol in particular was noted in a speech prepared for Minister Toews in response to a House of Commons question on the issue in 2010.

2. Record keeping obligations

In addition to record keeping requirements under the treaties above, Canada also signed the 2005 UN International Tracing Instrument (ITI) that commits states to ensuring accurate and comprehensive records are established for all small arms and light weapons within their territory, either by the state or by individuals engaged in manufacturing and trade. Canada noted in its 2009-2010 report on the progress of the implementation of the ITI that, “Its legislation requires each firearm to be registered against the manufacturer’s inventory at the time of production or the importer’s inventory at the time of importation and at every subsequent transfer, allowing for a quick, electronic registration query to determine the last legal owner of a firearm at any given point in time.”

Despite warnings from DFAIT officials that the elimination of the long-gun registry would put Canada in breach of several international commitments and would require us “to adopt an alternative record-keeping scheme, with a minimum retention period of 10 years, to continue to meet the record-keeping obligations under the UN Firearms Protocol,” the government went ahead with these legislative changes while claiming publicly that there would be no affect on our commitments. Records of sales were identified by officials as a possible alternative measure to comply with our internationals obligations, but ignoring these warnings yet again and in spite pleas by police and victims, the government passed regulations forbidding provinces from requiring gun dealers to maintain sales records in July. No other system has been proposed to comply with our commitments.

Alone Internationally

While Canada is knowingly weakening our compliance with international agreements to fight the illegal arms trade, other countries have implemented or strengthened record-keeping and marking and tracing measures. For example, the EU and its member states have taken several steps to fully implement the provisions of the UN Firearms Protocol. Switzerland is making improvements to firearms markings for tracing purpose. And St. Vincent and Grenadine’s recently ratified CIFTA.

The US 2011 Transnational Organized Crime Strategy includes explicit reference to the UN Firearms Protocol as a tool to combat transnational organized crime and President Obama has committed to work towards ratifying both the UN Firearms Protocol and CIFTA. When the marking regulations were last deferred in 2009, DFAIT officials raised concerns in an official memo of how that action could be negatively perceived in Washington.

In September, a coalition of Canadian women’s safety experts and violence against women service providers wrote the European Union Ambassador to Canada calling for the suspension of firearm exports to the country until it has taken meaningful steps to better address gender-based gun violence and to mitigate the damage caused by the weakening of Canada’s protections over the past year.

Many allies objected to Canadian positions in the lead up to the Arms Trade Treaty negotiations for focusing only on protecting the rights of gun owners and making no effort to build consensus among countries. Canada’s influence in multilateral small arms forums will continue to weaken, as state partners conclude that our support for international action on firearms trafficking has been discarded.

The erosion of Canada’s leadership internationally reflects the strong influence of the Canadian gun lobby (who work closely with the American National Rifle Association) on firearms policy both internationally and domestically. As has been standard practice in recent years for any international conference where arms are discussed, the only civil society representative allowed as part of the Canadian delegation to the UN Conference on the Convention against Trans-National Organized Crime in October in Vienna was a member of the gun lobby representing the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.

After eliminating both registration and records of sales, Canada appears poised to eliminate yet another tracing mechanism for firearms and with it, will be leaving police with fewer and fewer effective ways to trace guns found in crime and fight illegal gun trafficking.

Bill C-19

Latitia.Scarr — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:38:58 +0000

Passed in April 2012, Bill C-19 is principally known for eliminating the registration of non-restricted rifles and shotguns. This Bill went much farther in weakening gun control in Canada however, eliminating the mandatory validation of licences before firearms sales as well as the obligation for gun dealers to maintain records of sales. Here you will find the background on Bill C-19, as well as briefs and releases from a variety of public health and safety experts and concerned Canadians against this Bill.

Click here to learn about Bill C-19 (Ending the Long-gun Registry Act)
Click here for the Coalition for Gun Control’s submission on Bill C-19
Click here to read the Firearms Act (Revised April 5, 2012)

Firearms Regulations Then and Now

Latitia.Scarr — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:17:34 +0000

Licensing Firearms Owners

To purchase and own a firearm in Canada, individuals must possess a licence. Currently, a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) is required for all new firearms licence applicants in Canada. There is a $60 application fee for a non-restricted firearms licence, $80 for restricted and prohibited firearms. The licence is currently renewable every five years.

A fee waiver is in place for the renewal of licences for non-restricted weapons. The fee waiver for the renewal of licences for restricted and prohibited firearms was eliminated on September 18 2012 and the fee is now payable for all new applicants, renewals and upgrades from non-restricted.

A Minor’s Licence is also available for applicants aged 12-17, which allows holders to borrow weapons for “approved purposes” (e.g. hunting). The purchasing of ammunition is permitted (unless provincial restrictions are in place), but the purchase of firearms is not.

History of Licensing

1977: Introduction of requirements for Firearms Acquisition Certificates (FACs) for restricted weapons. These were needed only for acquisition and not possession.

1991: Introduction of a 28 day waiting period before issuance of a licence and the requirement to obtain one-time a licence to acquire non-restricted firearms — only one third of gun owners owned such licence.

1995: ALL firearm owners must be licensed by January 1, 2001. Introduction of the Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL). Non-restricted firearms owners who did not plan on acquiring new firearms were allowed to apply for a Possession Only Licence (POL) which included a less rigorous screening. Those applying for a POL were not subject to reference checks, safety training requirement or spousal notification. Both classes of licence allow the purchase of ammunition.

1998-2012: The PAL is automatically verified for validity when guns are purchased or transferred as part of the registration process

Licence Screening Process

The screening process currently requires the following: a photograph that must be validated by a guarantor who has known the applicant for at least a year; a statement signed by two guarantors that have known the applicant for at least 3 years and that confirm that, to their knowledge, the information in the application is true and there is no reason why the applicant should not have a firearm. It also requires contact information for current and former conjugal partners of the last 2 years.

Risk factors for violence and suicide are assessed during the application process, for example: criminal convictions, mental illness and history of violent behaviour. In order to be eligible, applicants must successfully complete the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and they must be 18 or older.

The Chief Firearms Officer has the ability to refuse or revoke licences.

History of Screening Process

1977: Introduced screening process for the first time. Factors that were considered included mental illness and criminal convictions. Applicants were eligible at 16 years of age or older.

1991: Mandated a more thorough process. Screening for risk factors of violence and suicide such as substance abuse, marital breakdown, job loss, were included. Two references also required (signatures only), in addition to a photograph and completion of a training program.

1995: Simplified but still thorough process. Spousal notification now included as part of the licencing process. References must now acknowledge that they have known the applicant for at least three years, that the information provided in the application is true and that there is no reason for the applicant not to be issued a licence.

2003: Primarily facilitated the issuance of licences to businesses, requiring that all employees hold a valid licence if there is even a chance they would have access to a weapon in the workplace.

Registration of Firearms

Since April 2012, only restricted or prohibited firearms are required to be registered (with the exception of the Province of Quebec where all firearms must be registered pending a legal challenge).

Registration is a simple process and is normally done at the store when the firearm is purchased. Registration only has to be done once for each firearm, unless it is transferred to a different owner. If the weapon stays with the same individual, there is no need to renew the registration at any point. If the weapon is sold or transferred to a new owner, the new owner is required to register the firearm in their name. To purchase any firearm and therefore also to register them, individuals must have a licence for the class of firearm they are registering. The firearm must have been verified “by an approved verifier” (typically done at the place of purchase). The information needed for registration includes some details on the owner (name, address, licence number) and the firearm (make, model, etc). For individuals being transferred a firearm from another individual, rather than purchasing from a dealer, registration may be done online.

Between 1995 and 2012, all firearms in Canada were required to be registered. When the requirement to register non-restricted firearms (rifles and shotguns) ended in April 2012, there were 7.1 million of these weapons registered. With those records then destroyed in October 2012, tracing those firearms and linking them back to their last legal owner if they are used gun violence is now next to impossible.

History of Firearm Registration

1977: Restricted weapons must be registered.

1995: ALL firearms must be registered by January 1, 2003.

1998: Registration of non-restricted firearms begins.

2012: The requirement to register non-restricted firearms is eliminated, though it remains in place for restricted and prohibited. The registration records on the 7.1 million non-restricted firearms are ordered destroyed (with the exception of the Province of Quebec where all firearms pending a legal challenge).

Records of Firearms Sales

The requirement for businesses to maintain records of their sales of firearms was introduced at the federal level in 1977. Businesses were issued a ledger book by the RCMP or relevant provincial police, where they were required to keep specific details on firearms transactions. These books could be consulted by police to trace firearms used in crime provided they had a warrant. They were also the principal tool used by police to inspect firearms dealers and their inventories to ensure they were following the law, as inventory discrepancies are a common indicator that a dealer could be involved in firearms trafficking or illegal sales. As of July 2012, provinces have been forbidden by the federal government from requiring dealers to maintain sales records.

History of Records of Sales

1977: Introduction of the requirement for firearms dealers to maintain a ledger on their transactions.

1978: Order in Council SOR/78-670 specifies that these records should be kept for at least 5 years.

1995: As information on firearm sales was now to be kept in the centralized registry, the requirement to maintain a paper ledger book was repealed.

2012: The bill eliminating the registration of non-restricted firearms did not reintroduce the federal requirement for gun dealers to maintain a ledger book. After provinces began requiring businesses under their jurisdiction, the federal government passed regulations removing their authority to do so.

Restricted Firearms

This category of guns includes most handguns. In order to possess a restricted weapon, an applicant must have a justifiable reason. These reasons are limited to the protection of their life or the life of another (though applicant must prove that their life is in danger and that the police cannot protect them); that it is to be used in connection with a person’s lawful profession or occupation; that it is to be used in target practice or a target shooting competition, or it will form part of a gun collection. A Chief Firearms Officer must approve the transport of a restricted weapon through an Authorization to Transport (ATT).

History of Restricted Firearms

1977: Handguns and assault rifles are classified as restricted weapons. Introduction of the justification requirement as well as the requirement for stating the location where applicant intends to carry the weapon.

1995: Introduction of the requirement of proof of good standing in a gun club and/or genuine status as a gun collector in order to apply for a restricted weapon licence.

2003: Added an exemption for those providing instructions on firearm usage in a safety course.

Prohibited Firearms

This class of firearms includes certain handguns and all automatic weapons. For those eligible, acquisition of this type of weapon is limited to those already registered in Canada on December 1, 1998. New importation of prohibited firearms to Canada is not permitted. Eligibility for a restricted firearm licence does not guarantee that a person is eligible for a licence for prohibited firearms, unless they were authorized to own the prohibited firearm prior to January 1, 1978. Some prohibited firearms were formerly classified as restricted, so individuals holding a licence for those weapons before their reclassification are eligible for a prohibited firearms licence. In these cases, the licence holders may acquire more prohibited firearms, but only of the type they already possess. Individuals may also eligible to own certain prohibited handguns if it was made before 1946, and if they are the next of kin of someone who had a valid licence to own the firearm before it was classified as a prohibited. However, in those cases they may only possess that specific handgun and may not acquire new ones.

History of Prohibited Firearms

1977: Prohibited weapons were defined as fully automatic firearms and sawed off shotguns.

1991: Defined as before, with the addition of some fire assault weapons (semi automatic or automatic) and some specified semi-automatic weapons. These changes were made through Order in Council. At this time, large capacity magazines were also prohibited, though there was an option for provincial exceptions.

1995: As before, though with the inclusion of additional semi-automatic weapons, short barrelled handguns, and replica firearms. The provincial exemptions for large capacity magazines are eliminated. A grandfather clause for licence eligibility for prohibited weapons already legally owned was included. The Ruger Mini 14, used in the 1989 Montreal Massacre and the 2011 massacre in Norway, remains non-restricted, and the AR 15, the same weapon used in the Aurora, Colorado shooting in 2012, remains a restricted weapon.

2003: Expanded the grandfather clause for prohibited weapons, extending the date from 1995 to 1998.

Safe Storage

When storing non-restricted firearms, they must be unloaded, be secured with a locking device, locked, have the bolt or bolt-carrier removed, and/or stored in a locked room or container. It must not be accessible to ammunition, unless the ammunition is stored together or separately from the firearm in a securely locked room or container that is difficult to break into. The same conditions apply to the safe storage of a restricted firearm, with the addition of the option of storing it in a vault, safe or room that has been specifically built or modified for the safe storage of a restricted firearm. The same conditions also apply to the safe storage of a prohibited firearm, with the exception that if the firearm is automatic, the bolt or bolt-carrier must be removed and stored in separate room from the firearm, in a securely locked place that is difficult to break into. More detailed information on safely storing firearms is available from the RCMP’s Canadian Firearms Program here.

History of Safe Storage

1977: Safe storage was not yet defined.

1991: Introduced in 1991, this required a trigger lock or secure container for un-restricted weapons; separate from ammunition.

1995: Addition of a requirement for both a trigger lock AND secure container for restricted weapons. Further mandated inspection of collectors with more than 10 firearms.

Police Access to Firearms Data

The Canadian Firearms Registry is available to police officers electronically 24 hours a day through the Canadian Firearms Registry Online (CFRO). It currently provides information on all firearms licence holders and on registered restricted and prohibited guns. There is no longer any information available to police on 7.1 million non-restricted firearms, despite the fact that many crimes are committed using these guns. Police have relied increasingly on the CFRO since its implementation as evidenced by the rise in average daily queries to the database, which has increased almost 5-fold since 2005.

History of Police Access to Firearms Data

1977: Police officers may manually search records of firearm sales at businesses in order to trace firearms back to their original owners. That requirement enabled police to trace the perpetrator of the Montreal Massacre in 1989, for example.

1995: Creation of a centralized electronic firearms registry. The CFRO can be accessed by officers through CPIC and provides them with critical information about the presence of firearms and their registered owners. This information helps police assess risks when responding to calls, distinguish between legal and illegal firearms, trace the source of registered firearms found at crime scenes and identify and return stolen and lost firearms to their owners.

2005: The Canada-wide average of queries made by police to the Registry was 4,101 a day.

2012: The Canada-wide average of queries made by police to the Registry was 18,174 a day.

How do Canada’s Regulations Compare Internationally?

Latitia.Scarr — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:15:32 +0000

For information on how Canada’s legislation and regulations on firearms compare to other countries:

Consult GunPolicy.org comparative legislative tool and Canadian analysis here.
Consult Chapter 9-Balancing Acts: Regulation of Civilian Firearm Possession of the 2011 Small Arms Survey here.

Restricted Firearms and Military Assault Weapons

Latitia.Scarr — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:51:29 +0000

Controls on Restricted Firearms (including Handguns)

The Firearms Act and its regulations include specific measures for firearms that are classified as restricted. Click here to find more about controls on restricted firearms including handguns.

Restrictions on Military Assault Weapons

Military weapons are not designed for hunting or target shooting, but for killing people during combat and are easy to use. They have no place in the hands of civilians. Click here to learn about Canadian controls on these firearms.