Parliamentary Committee Notes: Amendments
Proposed lines:
- Bill C-21 seeks to prevent firearm-related deaths in cases of family violence and self-harm, combat firearms smuggling and trafficking, prohibit mid-velocity ‘replica' airguns, and advance a national “freeze” on handguns.
- When we tabled the Bill, we noted our intention to move forward to ensure a comprehensive ban of assault-style firearms. In November 2022, we proposed amendments to codify in legislation the firearms already prohibited in regulations, and to prohibit future firearms via an ‘evergreen definition'.
- On February 3, 2023, we withdrew these amendments. While the core intent was to prohibit assault-style firearms that are a risk to public safety and not suitable for civilian use, we have heard Canadians and understand their concerns that some firearms commonly used for hunting may have been affected.
- We are taking this opportunity to consult with a variety of stakeholders, including Indigenous organizations and the firearms community. Engagement is underway with Canadians on the best way forward for protecting public safety interests.
- We believe that some parts of the withdrawn amendments are still important to protect Canadians, such as those on “ghost guns” which would have prohibited illegally manufactured firearm and certain firearm parts.
- These proposals would have allowed our Government to take action to address the growing public safety risk posed by ghost guns, and respond directly to recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in their recent report entitled: “A Path Forward: Reducing Gun and Gang Violence in Canada.”
If pressed on Indigenous sustenance hunters:
- Our Government recognizes the importance of consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples to ensure consistency of federal laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
- We continue to examine the potential effects of the recently withdrawn amendments on First Nations, Métis and Inuit, and will continue to consult and cooperate to ensure that the Bill's measures and amendments are consistent with the UN Declaration.
- Although the withdrawn amendments may have affected some firearms used by Indigenous hunters, these amendments were not meant to interfere with Indigenous hunting rights and practices protected under s. 35 of the Constitution Act. Instead, these amendments were meant to target assault style firearms that are a risk to public safety and not suitable for civilian use.
- The views expressed throughout the ongoing consultation and cooperation with Indigenous groups are very important for us to understand the potential impacts of the recently withdrawn amendments on Indigenous rights, and to identify intersections with the rights in the UN Declaration.
Background
Bill C-21
On May 30, 2022, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-21: An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms). The Bill seeks to amend the Criminal Code, Firearms Act, Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,and Nuclear Safety and Control Act. Measures included among others, to:
- limit access to and remove firearms from individuals who may pose a risk to themselves and others;
- expand licence revocation authority to help protect those in danger from firearms violence and permit a Chief Firearms Officers (CFO) to revoke a firearms licence;
- increase maximum penalties for offences, including for firearms trafficking and smuggling;
- prohibit mid-velocity 'replica' airguns that closely resemble a real firearm (replica) and that discharge a projectile at a velocity between approximately 366 and 500 feet per second;
- increase information sharing between law enforcement agencies;
- create new offences for altering a cartridge magazine and depicting violence in firearms advertising; and,
- tighten restrictions on the importation of non-prohibited ammunition.
Furthermore, to address the prevalence of handguns in Canadian society and essentially cap the growth of privately owned handguns, Bill C-21 would amend the Firearms Act to restrict the issuance to individuals of registration certificates for handguns, other than to individuals who qualify for an exemption. CFOs would also be restricted from issuing an Authorization to Transport a handgun from a port of entry unless the individual already held a registration certificate for that handgun, the individual was a non-resident non-licencee who is entering Canada with a handgun for the purpose of attending a shooting competition in Canada, or in transit through Canada en route to another destination outside of Canada.
In support of the handgun restrictions proposed in Bill C-21, the Government also tabled regulations to freeze the market quickly and prevent individuals from acquiring new handguns. These regulations apply the same measures as those proposed in Bill C-21 to restrict CFOs from issuing registration certificates for handgun transfers as well as prohibit the issuance of an Authorization to Transport a handgun from a port of entry unless the individual already held a registration certificate for that handgun. With handguns being unavailable for purchase or for importation by most individual Canadians, the measures in the proposed bill would essentially halt the growth in the number of domestic lawful handguns in Canada.
Proposed Expansion of the Prohibition of Assault-Style Firearms
On May 1, 2020, the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restricted were amended to reclassify as prohibited approximately 1,500 models of firearms and their variants. Since then, the list of prohibited assault-style firearms has grown by approximately 400 new models introduced on the market that meet the firearms prohibition criteria and are not eligible to be imported or sold in Canada. Also on May 1, 2020, the Governor in Council established an Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020) (Amnesty Order) under the Criminal Code to protect affected owners from criminal liability and give them time to comply with the law. The amnesty period was originally set to expire on April 30, 2022.
On March 16, 2022, the Governor in Council amended the Amnesty Order, including extending the amnesty period to October 30, 2023, to address issues raised since the introduction of the original Amnesty Order and to enable to Government to move forward with new commitments to implement a mandatory buyback program.
During the amnesty period, owners of firearms impacted by the May 1 prohibition can have their firearms deactivated by an approved business, surrender them to a police officer without compensation legally export them with a valid export permit, and, if a business, return them to the manufacturer.
The Government recognizes that the banning of firearms currently in use by a significant number of Indigenous hunters could intersect with Indigenous hunting rights and practices such as those in s.35 of the Constitution Act and in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. As such, the Government continues to consult and cooperate on these amendments to ensure that they are consistent with the UN Declaration.
Bill C-21 Current Status and Amendments
The Bill is currently being reviewed by the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU). On November 22, 2022, SECU began the clause-by-clause review of the Bill after hearing testimony from a wide range of stakeholders. During this meeting, the Government proposed amendments to list additional assault-style firearms as prohibited and to establish a the definition of a prohibited firearm in the Criminal Code. On February 3, 2023, the Government withdrew these proposed amendments. The Government heard Canadians and understands their concerns that some firearms commonly used for hunting may have been affected by the withdrawn amendments.
The core intent of these withdrawn amendments was to prohibit assault-style firearms that are a risk to public safety and not suitable for civilian use. The intent was not to target firearms that are commonly used for hunting. A key objective of the withdrawn amendments was to codify in legislation the makes and models firearms already prohibited through regulations in the 1990s and by the May 2020 Order-in-Council. The withdrawn amendment would have also amended section 84(1) of the Criminal Code to include definitions for “prohibition order”, “firearm part”, “semi-automatic” and “bore diameter”.
The other key objective of the withdrawn amendments was to prohibit any future makes and models of firearms that could enter the market via definition in the Criminal Code. The proposed ‘evergreen definition' would have prohibited any new firearm that is a rifle or shotgun, capable of discharging centrefire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner and that is designed to accept a detachable magazine, greater than 5 cartridges of the type for which the firearm was originally designed. The Government was clear that it was not targeting hunters or Indigenous Peoples through these changes, but was targeting the specific firearms that have capability to sustain rapid fire and inflict serious harm on Canadians.
If these amendments would have been adopted, approximately 19,500 non-restricted firearms would have remained available to gun owners for hunting, that would not be impacted by the proposed amendments.
Furthermore, the withdrawn amendments included measures intended to curtail the flow of commercial manufactured and readily available parts to criminal actors who use them to make ghost guns and support the Government's comprehensive strategy to combat firearms violence. “Ghost Gun” is a general term used to describe a firearm that is anonymous as to its origins, unmarked and, therefore, untraceable. Ghost guns can include 3D-printed firearms, converted airsoft guns, as well as guns manufactured from 80% receivers, precision casting, gun kits or assorted components that may be readily available in households, among others. Currently, privately manufactured frames and receivers (including those that are 3D-printed) can be assembled into fully functional firearms by using commercially manufactured, but unregulated, parts (e.g., barrels and handgun slides). Barrels are some of the hardest parts of a firearm to make privately, and slides are common parts for handguns.
These new measures would have responded directly to recommendations made by SECU in their recent report entitled: “A Path Forward: Reducing Gun and Gang Violence in Canada.” As part of the report, it was recommended that the Government of Canada:
- regulate the possession, sale, and import of firearm component parts such as barrels, slides, and trigger assemblies;
- further investigate the prevalence of, and develop a strategy to counteract the manufacturing of illegal firearms or ghost guns; and,
- amend the definition of a firearm in Section 2 of the Criminal Code to include in its specification of firearms and firearm parts “blank castings of frames or receivers not yet capable of holding various firing components.
As part of the Government Response, the Government committed to continue to further examine and analyze additional measures to combat the illegal manufacturing of firearms, such as the 3D printing of firearms.
Other Measures to Address Gun Violence
Comprehensive Suite of Firearms Measures
In Budget 2021, the Government announced an investment of $312M over five years, starting in 2021–22, and $41.4M per year ongoing for PS, CBSA, and the RCMP to enhance Canada's firearm control framework. This funding includes program measures that will:
- Strengthen services to support the lawful acquisition, ownership and use of firearms by enhancing RCMP Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) services to Canadians and law enforcement;
- Combat illegal firearm-related activities by increasing RCMP capacity to trace crime guns and to continue to build a national system that allows for the flagging of straw purchasing of firearms, and provide RCMP and CBSA with additional resources to target firearms smuggling and trafficking; and,
- Enhance firearms policy advice and promote awareness of firearms programs by establishing capacity for the RCMP to begin the development of a buyback program for those firearms that were prohibited on May 1 2020; increase PS capacity to support the policy, legislative, regulatory, and program measures to deliver on the Government's firearms commitments; and continue to develop and advance the firearms social marketing campaign that will raise awareness and educate Canadians on the need to reduce violent crimes through a variety of initiatives.
Contacts:
Prepared by: Manager, Firearms Policy
Approved by: Talal Dakalbab, Assistant Deputy Minister, Crime Prevention Branch, 613-990-270
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