Regulatory Amendments Supporting the Firearms Act

Regulations supporting the Firearms Act have been amended to simplify processes, increase cost-efficiency and improve service delivery, and enable legislative amendments contained in Bill C-10A to be brought into force. This backgrounder provides highlights of the substantive amendments and indicates a timeline.

In Effect Immediately

Transporting Firearms (Individuals)

• To assist individuals who do not have access to a licensed carrier, individuals may now ship restricted firearms and prohibited handguns using the most secure method offered by Canada Post that provides a signature upon delivery.
• As is currently the case, other prohibited firearms may still only be shipped by licensed carrier.

Anticipated to Take Effect Spring or Early Summer 2005

Transporting Firearms (Businesses)

• Business will be able to ship restricted firearms and prohibited handguns using the most secure method offered by Canada Post that requires a signature upon delivery.
• To reflect needs expressed by carrier companies that transport prohibited items, some requirements have been eased while those most essential for the protection of public safety have been retained.

Firearm Licences (Individuals)

• A renewal process has been developed for Possession-Only Licences (POL) and Possession and Acquisition Licences (PAL). The process will be the same for both licences.
• In general, the renewal process will be simpler than the original process. For example, some questions have been eliminated because the information is provided through continuous eligibility checks of their existing licence.
• Some extra public-safety measures have been added for those who renew a POL; for example, those renewing a POL will need to include information on all spouses and other conjugal partners with whom they have lived within the previous two years. This will give partners of POL holders the same opportunity currently offered to partners of PAL holders to express any concerns they may have about their own or someone else's safety.
• Although minors cannot bring a firearm into Canada, non-residents aged 12 to 17 will be able to get a Minors' Licence to borrow non-restricted firearms in Canada for purposes such as hunting or target shooting.

Firearms Licences (Businesses)

• Businesses will be able to obtain a licence to sell their inventory of prohibited handguns at retail to a grandfathered and properly licensed individual.
• The intraprovincial, interprovincial and international business carrier licences have been merged into one licence. This licence will be issued by the Registrar of Firearms.

Firearm Registration

• As a general rule, all registration applications must be accompanied by proof that an approved verifier has confirmed the classification and description of the firearm. If a firearm has previously been verified, this requirement applies only if a firearm's description has changed since the last registration certificate was issued or the Registrar has questions about the information in the registration database.
• Firearm owners need to report to the Registrar permanent or long-term modifications that significantly affect a firearm's description, such as changes to the type, action, calibre or gauge.
• The definition of a "specially imported firearm" has been expanded to include any firearm that is being imported temporarily by a licensed business for a lawful purpose. These firearms are exempt from any requirements to attach a firearms identification number (FIN) to the firearm.

• To simplify the process for transferring non-restricted firearms, a provincial Chief Firearms Officer will no longer be required to approve the transfer. The Registrar will check to ensure that the new owner is eligible to acquire the firearm when the application to transfer the registration of the firearm to the new owner is processed.

Fees

• Some fees have been repealed, including the fee for an Authorization to Import or Authorization to Export firearms and certain firearm parts.
• Some fees have been reduced; for example, in support of Canadian shooting sports events and tourism, the fee for a Non-resident Firearm Declaration for non-residents who bring a firearm to Canada has been reduced from $50 to $25.
• Business licence fees stay the same but they cover a longer term: up to three years for firearms businesses and up to five years for businesses that only sell non-prohibited ammunition.
• Individuals who apply for more than one Authorization to Carry for employment purposes in a one-year period only have to pay for the first one.

Anticipated to Take Effect September 1, 2005

Gun Shows

• The Gun Show Regulations will apply to all shows where firearms are displayed, offered for sale or sold, without exception.
• To simplify processes, the requirement for gun show sponsors to obtain a special licence has been repealed.
• The requirement to provide the provincial Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) with a list of exhibitors and a floor plan has also been repealed. Sponsors will still need to request approval from a CFO and notify local police.

Anticipated to Take Effect September 30, 2005

Public Agencies

• Firearm reporting requirements for public agencies were scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2005 but have been deferred until September 30, 2005.
• Some processes have been streamlined. For example, public agencies will only need to report "protected firearms" - that is, firearms that have been seized, found or turned in if the firearms have been in the agency's possession for 72 hours or more.
• Requirements for the safe storage of agency firearms and other regulated items have been clarified.

Anticipated to Take Effect Spring or Early Summer 2006

Import/Export

Of the original regulations, the only provisions currently in force are those pertaining to non-residents who temporarily import a firearm. These provisions have been amended as follows:

• Non-residents will have a new option for bringing firearms in Canada - they can apply to have their Non-resident Firearm Declaration pre-processed. The declaration will still need to be confirmed by a customs officer at the point of entry, but the background checks can be done in advance. A pre-processed declaration will be valid for up to one year.
• The option to have a Non-resident Firearm Declaration processed at the point of entry will still be available, however, it will only be valid for 60 days with the option for one free 60-day renewal.
• When bringing a firearm into Canada, non-residents will need to indicate the date they expect to take the firearm back out.

Provisions pertaining to Canadian residents and businesses that import or export firearms have been streamlined. For example:

• Canadian residents who temporarily export a firearm will not need to declare it in writing when they re-import it; they will simply need to show their licence and registration certificate.
• Businesses will not need a bar code on goods they import or export, however a bill of lading will be required.
• To enhance public safety and enable Canada to meet its international obligations, requirements for Authorizations to Import and Authorizations to Export have been extended to include firearm slides, cylinders, bolts, breechblocks and barrels.

Anticipated to Take Effect April 1, 2006

Firearm Markings

• There are new requirements for permanently stamping or engraving information on firearms that are being manufactured or imported to make tracking easier. These requirements are required to enable Canada to meet its international obligations under the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and under the Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials.
• There are some exceptions to this requirement, including firearms that are being imported temporarily by a non-resident or a licensed business for a lawful purpose.

For more information

The regulatory amendments will appear in the Canada Gazette Part II on December 15, 2004. General information on the Firearms Program is available in the Commissioner of Firearms' first report to Parliament, which is available on the Canada Firearms Centre's Website at www.cfc-cafc.gc.ca.