Letter to the Editor: Load Levelling

October 28, 2004
National Post
1450 Don Mills Rd., Ste 300
Toronto, ON M3B 3R5

To the Editor,

A recent article in the National Post on Saturday, October 23, 2004, (p.A1), omitted some important information concerning the Canada Firearms Centre's decision to extend the validity dates for some randomly selected firearms licences for workload levelling.

Legislation was tabled in Parliament in March 2001, and passed in May 2003, to provide measures for the effective administration of the Firearms Program. Included in the legislation was a provision to allow a one-time extension of some Possession Only Licences (POL).

This provision was included to facilitate the renewal of a large number of licences maturing five years after the Jan. 1, 2001 deadline requiring Canadian firearm owners and users to be licensed under the Firearms Act. Over fifty percent of the two million licences to date were issued in a twelve-month period before or shortly after that legislated deadline.

Workload levelling represents an effective business practice that allows a more even distribution of work over an extended period. This eliminates increased costs and staff for processing an unusual peak in business. Workload levelling also allows us to continue to meet application-processing standards, thus ensuring firearm owners receive their renewal before their existing licence expires.

The Canada Firearms Centre remains committed to providing Canadians with efficient and cost-effective services. This is but one of many measures that have been taken to allow us to meet that commitment.

Thomas Markus Vares
Communications Advisor
Canada Firearms Centre