Special Bulletin for Police No. 67
November 29, 2005 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. |
End of Amnesty for Prohibited Handguns
Snapshot
- The amnesty ends on December 31, 2005, for individuals who registered a prohibited handgun after February 14, 1995, and for businesses that had prohibited handguns in their inventory on December 1, 1998.
- There are no plans to extend the amnesty.
- Several notices have been mailed to individuals with handguns registered under the former law to inform them of what they need to do to comply with the current legal requirements.
- A final notice is being sent to owners who have not yet complied.
- There may be a slight increase in the number of handguns and prohibited handgun barrels turned in to police in coming weeks as a result.
Prohibited Handguns
As indicated in several previous bulletins, handguns with a barrel length of 105 mm or less and handguns that were designed or altered to discharge .25 or .32 calibre ammunition became prohibited on December 1, 1998, except for specific models used in International Shooting Union competitions.
These prohibited handguns are commonly called 12(6) handguns, in reference to grandfathering provisions contained in section 12(6) of the Firearms Act. The current provisions, as amended by Bill C-10A, allow an individual to be licensed to possess prohibited handguns if the individual has continuously held a valid registration certificate for at least one prohibited handgun from December 1, 1998, onward. A previous requirement to have held a valid registration certificate for a prohibited handgun on February 14, 1995, was eliminated.
Businesses may be licensed to possess prohibited handguns for an approved purpose set out in section 22 of the Firearms Licences Regulations (Businesses). The regulations were amended in November 2004 to allow the retail sale of prohibited handguns that were reported as business inventory prior to December 1, 1998. Businesses cannot be licensed to acquire more prohibited handguns for retail sale.
Amnesty for some Handgun Owners
On December 1, 1998, an amnesty was put in place to protect businesses and individuals from penalties while they disposed of handguns that they had possessed lawfully under the former law but could not lawfully keep under the Firearms Act. The amnesty was extended until December 31, 2005, to allow time for some legislative and regulatory changes to go through the necessary Parliamentary processes.
Bill C-10A received Royal Assent in May 2003. Changes to the supporting regulations were made in November 2004. The legislative and regulatory amendments came into effect on April 10, 2005. There are no plans to extend the amnesty beyond the deadline of December 31, 2005.
Bill C-10A grandfathered some 12(6) handguns that were previously ineligible for grandfathered status. These include handguns that were registered for the first time after the original cut-off date of February 14, 1995, and handguns that were reported to the Commissioner of the RCMP as business inventory before they became prohibited.
Some individuals remain ineligible for grandfathering privileges if their only prohibited handguns were registered after February 14, 1995. Registration certificates issued under the former law expired on December 31, 2002. A licence and new registration certificate for 12(6) handguns could not be issued to those individuals until the eligibility criteria were amended. By the time the changes received Parliamentary approval, the original certificates had already expired. As a result, they do not meet the current eligibility requirement to have continuously held a valid registration certificate for at least one prohibited handgun from December 1, 1998, onward. However, their handguns are now grandfathered, allowing them to be transferred and registered to a properly licensed individual.
What Next?
There are no plans to make further amendments to the grandfathering provisions for 12(6) handguns. Most owners of prohibited handguns have already complied with the law, either by obtaining the necessary licence privileges and registration certificates if they were eligible, or by disposing of prohibited handguns that they could no longer lawfully keep. Many of those individuals knew from the beginning that they risked losing their 12(6) handguns once the handguns became prohibited.
There are still a few owners who have not yet complied with the licence and registration requirements or disposed of their handguns. A final notice is being mailed to those individuals to give them one last chance before the amnesty expires. The notice provides specific options for disposing of a handgun lawfully, responsibly and safely, including turning the handgun in to a police or firearms officer for disposal or replacing a short barrel with one longer than 105 mm and turning the short barrel in to a police or firearms officer for disposal. There may be a slight increase in the number of prohibited handguns and prohibited handgun barrels turned in to police over the next few weeks as a result of this notice.
Other options for disposing of a prohibited handgun include:
- Transferring the handgun to a properly licensed business or individual;
- Permanently deactivating the handgun so that it cannot be made to fire ammunition, and therefore, no longer meets the definition of a firearm;
- Exporting the handgun to a country that will allow it to be imported – Individuals should contact the Export Controls Division of International Trade Canada (ITC) at 1 800 267-8376 for information on export requirements or refer to ITC’s Website;
Regardless of the method of disposal, the Registrar needs to be notified so that the records can be updated.
Once the amnesty expires, individuals who were protected by the amnesty will be subject to the same penalties as any other individual if they are in possession of a prohibited handgun without the required licence privileges and registration certificates.
Most Possession-Only Licences and Possession and Acquisition Licences that are valid for prohibited handguns will show 12(6) on the back. A few will show 12(7) instead, in cases where an individual was allowed to acquire and register a family heirloom made before 1946 but is not eligible to possess other prohibited handguns.
Information for the Police
To ensure that you are on our distribution list, or that your contact information is current, you may contact us through any of the means indicated below.
- Any police agent can use the CAFC Police-Only Information and Referral Line at 1 800 731-4000, ext. 2064 (E) or 2063 (F) (toll-free) to obtain information or to obtain publications that are available.
Information for the Public
- Members of the public must not be referred to the Police-Only Line but can be referred to the public lines at 1 800 731-4000 (toll-free)
This bulletin is intended to provide general information only, and may only be copied and distributed within the police community. For legal references, please refer to the Firearms Act and its supporting regulations.
Le présent bulletin est également disponible en français.
|