Special Bulletin for Businesses – No. 57
June 28, 2006 Notice
The information contained in this bulletin is considered accurate the date of publication. The information has not been updated to reflect any changes to the Firearms Act and related regulations. |
Changes to the Canadian Firearms Program
Snapshot
- Changes to the Canadian Firearms Program were announced on May 17, 2006.
- These changes simplify compliance with licensing and registration requirements for individuals.
- The changes will have little impact on requirements for your business, but they may affect your employees and your clients.
On May 17, 2006, the Minister of Public Safety announced a two-step plan to change federal firearm controls in order to reflect the Government’s commitment to reduce crime and protect public safety while reducing the burden on legal firearm owners. This bulletin highlights some of the immediate changes pertaining to the waiver of licence renewal fees for individuals, the amnesty pertaining to individuals who possess non-restricted firearms, and the verification of non-restricted firearms.
Licence Renewal
As we have informed you in previous bulletins, if your business possesses or deals in firearms, every employee who handles those firearms needs a valid Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL). Also, your business may only sell firearms to individuals who hold a valid PAL allowing them to acquire the firearms.
To make it easier for individuals to keep their licence current, all licence renewal fees have been waived until May 17, 2008.
The fee has also been waived for individuals who wish to change their licence privileges. This means, for example, that if your business wants to hire someone who currently only has a Possession-Only Licence (POL), that person may upgrade to a PAL at no additional cost once he or she has met the safety-training requirements.
Similarly, if an individual’s licence is currently only valid for non-restricted firearms, but your business possesses restricted or prohibited firearms, the fee will be waived if the individual applies for a new PAL allowing them to handle those classes of firearms.
Individuals who have already paid a fee to renew a licence or upgrade licence privileges will be sent a refund within a few months. To ensure that they get their refund, it is important that they let us know of any address changes. They may submit an address change and obtain forms online at www.cfc-cafc.gc.ca or by calling 1 800 731-4000.
Individuals will still have to pay for their initial PAL, which costs $60 for non-restricted firearms, or $80 for a combination of non-restricted and restricted firearms.
Amnesty
A one-year amnesty, ending May 17, 2007, temporarily protects individuals from Criminal Code penalties for possessing non-restricted firearms without a valid licence or registration certificate. The purpose of the amnesty is to encourage individuals to comply with the legal requirement to obtain a licence if their licence has expired, and/or to register any non-restricted firearms that are not currently registered. It only applies to individuals who have a valid or expired licence, issued under the Firearms Act, for non-restricted firearms.
The amnesty does not affect licence requirements for your employees or your customers, who continue to need a valid PAL in order to handle firearms for business purposes or to purchase firearms or ammunition.
Verification of Non-Restricted Firearms
Verification requirements for businesses have not changed. You may still have an approved verifier on staff to verify business inventory and you may continue to verify firearms for individuals in your community if you wish.
A new option is now available to make it easier for individuals to verify their non-restricted firearms. Those firearms may now be verified over the telephone, by calling 1 800 731-4000. Their non-restricted firearms will need physical verification only if there are problems confirming the identity, description or classification of the firearm.
More Information
For general information, contact us at:
1 800 731-4000 (Toll Free)
E-mail: cfc-cafc@cfc-cafc.gc.ca
This bulletin is intended to provide general information only. For legal references, please refer to the Firearms Act and Regulations. Provincial, territorial and municipal laws, regulations and policies may also apply.
Le présent bulletin est également disponible en français.
|