Parliamentary Committee Notes: Ghost Guns and Illegal Manufacturing in Canada
Proposed Response:
- Our Government remains committed to protecting Canadians from gun violence.
- Illicit manufacturing of firearms is a growing public safety risk, particularly given trends in the use of 3D printers and other technology to create dangerous weapons.
- These privately made firearms – also known as ghost guns – are often manufactured or assembled from components without a serial number or other markings which would uniquely identify it, thereby preventing it from being traced in a conventional manner.
- To be clear, it is already illegal to manufacture or possess any firearm — including a 3D-printed firearm — without the appropriate business licence issued by a Chief Firearms Officer.
- We take the safety of all Canadians very seriously.
- Through Bill C-21, our Government is proposing to increase penalties for gun crimes, including increasing the maximum penalty for the illegal manufacture or possession of a firearm from 10 to 14 years imprisonment.
- Our Government will continue to monitor this trend and examine ways in which we can curb illegal manufacturing in order to protect Canadians from gun violence.
- Our Government is committed to taking action to further address large capacity magazines that have been used with assault-style firearms in mass shootings in Nova Scotia, Québec City, Moncton, and Montréal.
- Large capacity magazines - those that can hold more than their legal limit - pose a threat to public safety by allowing sustained and rapid fire.
- Bill C-21 will be a step towards meeting our commitments.
- The Bill seeks to create a new offence in the Criminal Code for the act of altering a cartridge magazine so that it exceeds the lawful capacity. The penalty would be five years imprisonment on indictment, or on summary conviction, it would be two years imprisonment less a day, or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.
- Many of these large capacity magazines are already prohibited in Canada. It is already an offence under the Criminal Code to possess, sell, or import magazines that exceed the legal limit.
- However, there are a number of magazines designed for certain firearms that have been legally altered prior to importation so that they only hold the legal limit – which is five cartridges for most magazines designed for a semi-automatic, centre-fire long gun, and 10 cartridges for most handgun magazines.
- While the methods by which a cartridge magazine can be legally altered to meet the legal limit are set out in regulations under the Criminal Code, we know that these methods need to be reviewed to ensure public safety is maintained.
- Our Government intends to bring forward regulations that will require the permanent alteration of large capacity magazines so that they can never hold more than five rounds, and prohibit the sale and transfer of magazines capable of holding more than the legal number of bullets.
- This would build on existing measures to address the misuse of firearm components and will complement other actions the Government is taking to control firearms, fight trafficking and smuggling, and keep Canadians safe from gun violence
Background:
In Canada, all firearms, regardless of how they are manufactured, are classified as non-restricted, restricted, or prohibited pursuant to the criteria outlined in subsection 84(1) of the Criminal Code.
It is a criminal offence under section 99 of the Criminal Code (weapons trafficking) for any person to manufacture “a prohibited firearm, a restricted firearm, a non-restricted firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, any ammunition or any prohibited ammunition knowing that the person is not authorized to do so under the Firearms Act or any other Act of Parliament or any regulations made under any Act of Parliament”.
It is also illegal to possess a firearm without the appropriate licence and applicable registration certificate, if required. Firearms licencing is an important mechanism for ensuring rigorous screening of potential gun owners. The Firearms Act stipulates that individuals in possession of firearms must have a Possession and Acquisition Licence.
The Firearms Act requires that businesses must be licenced to manufacture ammunition, firearms, restricted or prohibited weapons, or prohibited devices. A business licence is valid only for the activities specified on the licence.
Regardless of manufacturing method, a business licence is required to manufacture a firearm, and all firearms with a muzzle velocity above 152.4 m per second and with a muzzle energy above 5.7 Joules are subject to the Firearms Act, associated offences in the Criminal Code and their Regulations.
“Ghost Gun” is a general term used to describe a firearm that is anonymous as to its origins and therefore untraceable. More specifically, it is a firearm that is manufactured or assembled from components without a serial number or other markings which would uniquely identify it, thereby preventing it from being traced in a conventional manner. The use of some manufacturing techniques can also make it difficult to detect the firearm by conventional x-ray or metal detector systems.
Contacts:
Prepared by: [Redacted], Manager, Firearms Policy Division, [Redacted]
Approved by: Talal Dakalbab, Assistant Deputy Minister, Crime Prevention Branch, 613-852-1167
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