Introduction of Grace Period for Registration, Extension of Amnesty for Prohibited Handguns, and Amnesty for Business Consignment Sales

FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ALL PROSECUTORS DEALING WITH  PART III OF THE CRIMINAL CODE AND/OR THE FIREARMS ACT

Special Bulletin for Prosecutors No. 29 

Snapshot

• The amnesty for prohibited handguns has been extended until December 31, 2003.
• There is an amnesty for unregistered consignment firearms in business inventories until December 31, 2003.
• There is a grace period until June 30, 2003, for firearms owners whose registration application was submitted but not processed before the deadline.
• The information in this bulletin is also being sent to firearms businesses, public agents, police officers, and justices of the peace on the Canada Firearms Centre mailing list.

Prohibited Handguns

In Special Bulletins for Prosecutors Nos. 4, 13, and 25, we informed you of an amnesty for individuals and businesses in possession of prohibited handguns, prohibited handgun barrels, and unregistered restricted firearms that they cannot lawfully have. The provisions of the amnesty relating to prohibited handgun barrels and unregistered restricted firearms end on December 31, 2002.

However, the current amnesty provisions relating to prohibited handguns are being extended to December 31, 2003.

This amnesty applies to businesses and individuals with prohibited handguns that were acquired lawfully under the former law but that the owner is not eligible to possess under the Firearms Act.

Prohibited handguns include handguns with a barrel length of 105 mm or less and handguns that discharge 25 or 32 calibre ammunition, except for a few specific handguns used in competitions governed by the rules of the International Shooting Union.

Extending the amnesty gives owners more time to explore their options and to take appropriate action to dispose of prohibited handguns that they cannot lawfully keep.

The amnesty extension also allows more time for Parliament to review proposed legislative amendments that, if approved, will give grandfathered status to prohibited handguns registered to an individual or that were in a dealer's inventory and reported to the Commissioner of the RCMP on or before December 1, 1998. This will be particularly beneficial to dealers that had large stocks of affected handguns in their inventory at the time the handguns became prohibited.

Under the terms of the amnesty, businesses have the following options for disposing of prohibited handguns that were reported as part of the business inventory after February 14, 1995. A business may:

• Deactivate the handguns so that they are no longer considered to be firearms;
• Replace short barrels with ones longer than 105 mm so that the handguns become restricted, and turn in the prohibited barrels to a police officer or firearms officer; or
• Turn the handguns in to a police officer or firearms officer for disposal.

With respect to prohibited handguns that were reported as part of a business inventory before February 14, 1995, businesses also have the option to:

• Sell or give the handguns to a public service agency or to a business or museum licensed under subsection 11(2) of the Firearms Act to possess such handguns; or
• Export them in accordance with all applicable legal requirements in Canada and in the importing country.

All of the options for businesses are also available to individuals who applied to register a prohibited handgun between February 14, 1995 and December 1, 1998 in situations where the individual and/or the handgun are not eligible for grandfathered status.

In addition, non-grandfathered individuals with grandfathered prohibited handguns also have the option of selling or giving these handguns to another individual who is grandfathered and licensed to acquire them.

Consignment Firearms

The government is offering amnesty until December 31, 2003 to businesses that have unregistered consignment firearms in their inventory. The amnesty applies to all classes of firearms, including restricted and prohibited firearms that were registered under the former law (prior to December 1, 1998) but that have not been re-registered under the Firearms Act. The old registration certificates for those restricted and prohibited firearms expire on December 31, 2002.

During the term of the amnesty, businesses may continue to sell these unregistered firearms to customers who can lawfully acquire them until December 31, 2003.

The amnesty period will also allow dealers more time to explore other options for disposing of consignment firearms, in consultation with the owner, in the event that the firearms cannot be sold during the term of the amnesty.

The amnesty only applies to firearms taken on consignment prior to January 1, 2003.

The amnesty does not apply to firearms that are part of the business' own inventory. Businesses must apply to register these firearms before January 1, 2003.

The amnesty also does not apply to firearms in pawnshops. Depending on the terms and conditions of their agreement with the owner, and their firearms business licence, it may be possible to register these firearms to the business if, for example, the owner does not reclaim the firearms within the designated time.

Grace Period

Although the vast majority of licensed firearm owners (about 70%) have already applied to register their firearms, a surge of applications is expected just before the January 1, 2003 deadline.

Last-minute applications will be processed as quickly as possible. The grace period will ensure that firearm owners who apply to register their firearms by the deadline will not be penalized if they do not have all of their certificates in hand by January 1, 2003. Owners will be protected until such time as a certificate is issued or refused, up until June 30^th, 2003.

This is not an extension of the deadline. Anyone who fails to submit their application by the end of the year will not be covered by the grace period and could be subject to penalties under the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act.