Regulations Supporting the Firearms Act Have Been Amended

OTTAWA, December 2, 2004 - The Honourable Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, today announced that regulations supporting the Firearms Act have been amended. These amendments enable legislative changes contained in Bill C-10A to be brought into force. They are designed to improve service delivery, increase cost-efficiency and streamline processes.

"Public safety remains the top priority of the Firearms Program," said Minister McLellan. "These amendments will help us to achieve that goal more efficiently while enabling the Government to meet its commitment made in May to facilitate compliance for responsible firearm owners."

The regulatory amendments, along with the corresponding legislative amendments, are being brought into force in stages. Some of the regulations take effect immediately; others have been deferred to give affected businesses, individuals and public agencies the necessary time to develop or adjust procedures to implement the changes.

Some key changes include:

• The licence renewal process has been simplified by eliminating some questions where the information is already available through continuous eligibility screening and by removing the requirements for references and a photo guarantor;

• Upon renewal of a licence, conjugal partners of individuals who hold a Possession-Only Licence will have the same opportunity as conjugal partners of individuals who hold a Possession and Acquisition Licence to express concerns about their own or someone else's safety; and

• Some fees have been eliminated or reduced.

The revised regulations reflect many of the recommendations received from program partners and key stakeholders including firearm associations, provincial wildlife associations, businesses, police, public-safety groups and victims groups during consultations held in 2003 and as part of the 2004 Ministerial Review of the Firearms Program.

The Canada Firearms Centre continues to work with Canadians and its public safety partners to promote the responsible use and ownership of firearms. Almost seven million firearms have been registered and close to two million firearms licences have been issued.

This represents a compliance rate approaching 90 per cent. Since 1998, law enforcement officers, including police and border services agencies, have queried the Canadian Firearms Information System more than 3.5 million times to support them in fighting crime and protecting the public. In addition, the Government is reducing the overall cost of the Program.

For more information, please see the attached backgrounder or visit the website: www.cfc-cafc.gc.ca.

For further information:

Alex Swann
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Anne McLellan
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
(613) 991-2863

Media Desk
Canada Firearms Centre
(613) 941-5371

Backgrounder : Regulatory Amendments supporting the Firearms Act