Parliamentary Committee Notes: Questions and Answers

Table of Contents

General/Procedural Questions

Q 1. How does the proposed legislation differ from the former Bill C-21?

A 1. There are some notable differences between the former Bill C-21, which did not receive Royal Assent prior to the 2021 federal election, and the current Bill C-21:

The Bill no longer includes a non-permissive storage option that would have allowed owners of firearms prohibited on May 1, 2020 to keep, but not use, those firearms. Therefore, by the end of the amnesty on October 30, 2023, all affected owners will have to be in compliance with the law – meaning they will have to dispose of their firearm in one of the following ways: by surrendering the firearm for compensation or having the firearm deactivated at government expense as part of the buyback program, exporting the firearm with a valid export permit, or surrendering it to police without compensation..

The current Bill proposes enhancements to the “red flag” law provisions to better protect an applicant's identity, and also to revoke firearms licences when a protection order is issued or in cases of domestic violence. Together, these measures will better protect victims of intimate-partner violence.

The current Bill proposes new tools for law enforcement by adding two new Criminal Code firearms offences to the existing list of offences eligible for wiretapping. This will help investigate gang violence.

The current Bill would complete the implementation of a Bill C-71 provision by repealing the Governor in Council's ability to downgrade firearms classifications.

The current Bill also proposes to make registration certificates expire immediately after a re-classification of a firearm.

The most significant change relates to the provisions on handguns. The former Bill would have allowed municipalities to implement federal storage and transportation restrictions. The current Bill would demonstrate strong federal leadership by freezing the market for individuals. Most individuals would no longer be able to acquire new handguns, domestically or by bringing them home from abroad.

Q 2. Did the Government conduct consultations before introducing Bill C-21 or their amendments?

A 2. Extensive public engagement on the issue of banning handguns and assault-style firearms took place between October 2018 and February 2019 with the provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous groups, law enforcement, community organizations, and industry. The intent of this engagement was to hear from a wide range of stakeholders, which included those both in support of and in opposition to limiting access to firearms. The engagement process included a series of eight in-person roundtables (in Vancouver, Montréal, Toronto, and Moncton), an online questionnaire, a written submission process, and bilateral meetings with a range of stakeholders. Many participants expressed their views that a ban on assault-style firearms was needed in order to protect public safety.

Q 3. Will the Government conduct new consultations on Bill C-21?

A 3. The Government is currently engaging a variety of stakeholders, including Indigenous organizations and the firearms community on Bill C-21. Planning is underway to further engage Canadians on the best way forward for protecting public safety interests.

Q 4. What is an assault-style firearm?

A 4. There is currently no Criminal Code definition of an assault-style firearm.

On May 1, 2020, our Government prohibited nine principal models of assault-style firearms as they:

  1. have semi-automatic action with sustained rapid-fire capability (tactical/military design with large magazine capacity);
  2. are of modern design; and,
  3. are present in large volumes in the Canadian market.

Also prohibited on May 1, 2020, were two new categories of firearms that exceed safe civilian use. These are characterized by the following physical attributes:

These weapons are primarily designed to produce mass human casualties or cause significant property damage at long ranges, and the potential power of these weapons exceeds safe or legitimate civilian use.

Q 5. When will the Government launch the buyback program for assault-style firearms?

A 5. The Government intends to launch the program in 2023. It has committed to offer fair compensation to affected owners and businesses, while making sure implementation and management are done in a safe and cost-effective manner. 

Family Violence Measures

Q 6. How would the “red flag” laws work?

A 6. The “red flag” regime in the Criminal Code would allow any person to apply to a judge for an order to immediately remove firearms from an individual who may pose a danger to themselves or others for 30 days, or from a third-party who may be at risk of providing firearms to an individual who already has a weapons prohibition order. These orders would be renewable and could be replaced by longer-term weapons prohibition orders. The Canadian Women's Foundation notes that in Canadian households, the presence of firearms in the home is the single greatest risk factor for lethality of intimate-partner violence.

Q 7. What changes to the proposed legislation are proposed to address the concerns raised by victims and women's groups?

A 7. This common sense measure is needed to protect victims of intimate partner violence.

Changes to the “red flag” laws would give judges the discretion to hold hearings in camera, closed to the public and the media, to redact identifying information from court documents and to seal the records of the proceedings. This would protect the identity of applicants and it would be supported by a program to raise awareness of the regime and protections.

A new amendment to the Firearms Act would prevent individuals with a prior or current restraining order, issued after the coming into force date, from obtaining a firearms licence. It would also require Chief Firearms Officers to revoke an existing licence if an individual is the subject of a new restraining order or the firearms owner is involved in an act of domestic violence or stalking, and their guns would be removed.

These individuals would be ineligible for a licence until they demonstrate they no longer pose a risk to public safety. The circumstances for doing so would be prescribed in future regulations, and could include elements such as whether counselling and a clean criminal record was maintained, or how far in the past the restraining order was.

Government officials will consult Indigenous Peoples as part of the regulatory process on the impact on Indigenous and northern communities and on the need for tailored exceptions for sustenance hunting and trapping and employment.

Q 8. Is it fair to revoke someone's licence for a protection order?

A 8. A firearms licence is a privilege that grants its holder the ability to possess an instrument whose primary purpose is the discharge of potentially lethal force.

Canadians rightly expect that licence holders meet the highest bar of responsible social behaviour and can bear the closest scrutiny prior to the issuance of a licence and continuous screening to assess their ongoing eligibility to maintain a licence. Restraining orders and peace bonds are issued by courts, upon presentation of evidence that satisfies their evaluation standard. If a court has seen fit to find that someone poses enough of a danger to another person or themselves, that person should not possess firearms until that threat is mitigated.

Q 9. How would the “yellow flag” laws work?

A 9. The “yellow flag” regime in the Firearms Act would allow a Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) to suspend a firearms licence temporarily, for up to 30 days, if the CFO receives information that calls an individual's licence eligibility into question. This could apply, for example, if a licence holder is suspected of illegally reselling firearms. The “yellow flag” would prohibit the licence holder from any use, acquisition or importation of firearms, but the individual would not be required to surrender their firearms.

National Handgun “Freeze”

Q 10. Why a national handgun “freeze”? Why not ban handguns nationally?

A 10. The Bill proposes to stop the growth of handgun ownership, which has grown from 500,000 in 2010 to more than 1 million in 2020. If enacted, the number of registered handguns would never increase, and it would decline over time.  Freezing the market is neither a prohibition of handguns nor a confiscation of the existing stock of handguns.

Q 11. Under the national freeze, would handgun owners be able to use them?

A 11. Yes. Owners of existing handguns would continue to be able to possess and use their handguns for the same lawful purposes as today: for sports shooting or as part of a gun collection. There would be no change to their current privileges, except that they could not sell or transfer their handgun (except to businesses and exempted individuals), or acquire any new ones.

Q 12. Under the national freeze, why would individuals be allowed to keep their handguns?

A 12. The Government is not proposing to change the classification of handguns as was the case under the May 1, 2020, Order in Council that prohibited certain assault style firearms. As a result, individuals currently in lawful possession of handguns would be permitted to continue to possess and use their existing handguns. Freezing the market is neither a prohibition of handguns nor a confiscation of the existing stock of handguns. The intent of this approach is to cap the number of handguns in Canada and prevent new handguns from entering Canada. The number of handguns in Canada would decline over time.

Q 13. What is the Government doing to ensure that professional handgun sports shooters can continue to develop and participate in their sport?

A 13. The Government recognizes the value of high performance sport, including the sports shooting disciplines. That's why this proposal would exempt athletes training in Olympic/Paralympic disciplines from the handgun acquisition restrictions. These athletes compete in sporting activities that are distinct from other recreational forms of competitive handgun sport shooting in order to represent Canada on the world stage.

Public Safety will work with Sport Canada to establish the criteria for which athletes will qualify for the exemptions and specify which handguns are eligible to be covered under this exemption, as part of a subsequent regulatory initiative.

Q 14. Now that owners can't sell their handguns, will the government compensate or buy back their handguns?

A 14. Owners can continue to possess and use their handguns and are still able to sell their handguns to businesses or exempted individuals, or export them with a valid export permit. The government will not compensate owners for their handguns.

Q 15. Will more controls on lawfully-owned handguns reduce crime?

A 15. In 2020, handguns were used in 70 per cent of urban crime involving firearms. The number of registered handguns in Canada has grown 71 per cent between 2010 and 2020. Firearms in situations of intimate-partner violence increase the fatality rate by five times.

These proposed measures would help lower the number of suicides, femicides, thefts, other types of crime, and accidents involving legal handguns. It will also diminish the supply of legal firearms used for criminal purposes, such as straw purchasing and theft which feeds domestic trafficking.

Q 16. Can handguns be used for hunting?

A 16. No. Handgun use in Canada is limited to sports shooting and as part of a gun collection.

Q 17. How will the handgun proposals impact businesses?

A 17. In 2021, 699 businesses in Canada were licenced to sell restricted firearms, most being handguns.

The proposed handgun restrictions would impact certain businesses, since transfers of handguns to individuals who are not exempt would no longer be permitted.

These businesses could continue to supply handguns to law enforcement and defence personnel, other businesses, and exempted individuals, and could shift to sell other firearms and products.

Businesses would also be allowed to own handguns, which would permit individuals to use business-owned handguns in controlled, secure environments at licensed ranges.

Q 18. Will grandfathered handguns be affected?

A 18. Owners could continue to possess and use grandfathered handguns, but would no longer be able to transfer them except to businesses or exempted individuals licenced to possess prohibited firearms, just as would be the case for most other handgun owners. It would be incongruous to implement a national freeze on handgun acquisitions but continue to allow grandfathered handguns to be transferred between individuals.

Replicas

Q 19. What is being done to address replica firearms (airguns) and the opposition to the C-21 proposals?

A 19. This Criminal Code proposal would prohibit the import, export and sale of airguns that resemble exactly or with near precision a regulated firearm. These devices are sometimes used in crimes and are difficult to distinguish from regulated firearms. Existing owners and businesses would be able to possess and use these airguns, but not transfer them. Canadian and foreign manufacturers would be required to make airguns that conform to Canadian law to be eligible to sell them in Canada.

Government officials will work with law enforcement and industry on options to address the real public safety risks, but to allow the continued use of airguns, such as those implemented in the United Kingdom.

Smuggling and Trafficking

Q 20. How would the legislation address gun smuggling and trafficking?

A 20. The Bill proposes to increase the maximum penalties from 10 to 14 years for these and other related Criminal Code offences.

The Bill would also authorize the Chief Firearms Officers to disclose information, such as the name, address, and firearms owned by a licence holder to Canadian law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution where there are reasonable grounds to suspect straw purchasing and trafficking. For transparency, the number of disclosures would be added to the Commissioner of Firearms' annual report to the Minister of Public Safety.

The “yellow flag” laws could be used to suspend a firearms licence if the holder is suspected of suspicious purchasing patterns.

Q 21. What else is the government doing to address firearms smuggling?

A 21. While the national freeze of handguns will result, over time, in fewer thefts and straw purchases fueling the black market, criminals will increasingly turn to smuggled handguns and illicit manufacturing. The price of illegal handguns will rise as domestic sources are reduced.

The Government is taking significant steps to stop illegal guns at their source — to stop smuggling across the border, trafficking within Canada, and diversion from the legal market through straw purchasing and theft.

Since 2018, it invested $125 million as part of the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence to enhance the RCMP and the CBSA's capacity for firearms investigations and to strengthen controls at the border.

The Government is investing an additional $312 million over five years, beginning in 2021–22, and $41.4 million per year ongoing, for Public Safety Canada, the RCMP and the CBSA to enhance federal capacity to better identify, disrupt and prevent firearms from entering the illicit market. This includes $15 million, over five years, to increase the RCMP's capacity to trace firearms; $40.3 million, over five years, for the RCMP for anti-smuggling activities, which includes building a national system that allows for the flagging of bulk purchases of firearms; and, $21.6 million for the CBSA to enhance its x-ray equipment to detect firearms at land and marine ports and to enable intelligence sharing.

In addition, under the Cross Border Crime Forum, the Government has launched a cross-border task force with the United States to identify the primary sources of illicit firearms and to disrupt their flow across the border.

Q 22. How is the Government working with Indigenous communities to prevent gun smuggling near the Canada-U.S. border?

A 22. Since 2010, the RCMP and CBSA have been active members of the Cornwall Regional Task Force, working with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Ministry of Finance, to combat smuggling and trafficking of firearms in certain First Nation communities on the Canada-U.S. border, such as the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.

The agencies are also working directly with the First Nation police services, including the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, to address illicit activities in their community.

Under the First Nations Organized Crime Initiative, my department is providing $8.4 million, from 2019–20 to 2022–23, to the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service and $3.8 million from 2021–22 to 2026–27 to the Kahnawake Peacekeepers to increase their investigative and intelligence-gathering capacity to disrupt organized and firearms crime.  

These investments are paying dividends. In December 2021 a seizure of almost 170 firearms and their components demonstrated the success of our efforts.

Large Capacity Magazines

Q 23. What is being done to address large capacity magazines?

A 23. It is already a criminal offence for individuals to possess and import magazines that exceed the legal limit. The Bill proposes to also make it a criminal offence to penalize the alteration of a cartridge magazine to exceed its lawful capacity; for example, removing methods of permanent alteration such as a pin or rivet. The penalty would be five years imprisonment on indictment. Or it would be two years imprisonment less a day, or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both, on summary conviction.

Today, large capacity magazines can be easily modified to hold more than the legal limit. We intend 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.

Withdrawn Amendments G4 and G46

Q 24. What were the objectives of the withdrawn amendments?

A 24. One 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 1, 2020, Order-in-Council.

The other key objective of the withdrawn amendments was to prohibit any future makes and models of firearms that could enter the market via an 'evergreen 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.

Another objective of the withdrawn amendment G4 was to prohibit any unlawfully manufactured firearm and to define “firearm part” to mean any firearm barrel or slide of a handgun to address increasing trends of illegal manufacturing of firearms. These parts are integral to the function of the firearm and are quite difficult to replace and/or manufacture using 3D printing. These proposals would have responded to calls to address ghost guns.

Q 25. Why did the Government withdraw amendments?

A 25. The withdrawn amendments generated significant debate and legitimate concerns in our society about the need for more consultation and debate. These are important steps of the process that should be given more time.

The Government heard Canadians and understands their concerns that some firearms commonly used today for hunting may have been affected by these withdrawn amendments.

Withdrawing the amendments creates an opportunity to consult with Indigenous and firearms communities on the best way to move forward.

Q 26. What was the intent of the withdrawn amendments?

A 26. When the Government tabled the Bill, they noted their intention to move forward to ensure a comprehensive ban of assault-style firearms. The core intent of the withdrawn amendments was to prohibit assault-style firearms that are a risk to public safety and not suitable for civilian use.

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. It should be noted that if the withdrawn amendments would have been adopted, then approximately 19,500 non-restricted firearms would not have been impacted and would have remained available to gun owners for hunting.

General

Q 27. What is the purpose of the proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Act (IRPA)?

A 27. The proposed amendments to IRPA would designate the Minister of Public Safety as the minister responsible for the establishment of policies respecting inadmissibility on the grounds of transborder criminality for the commission of an offence on entering Canada.

The amendments would also be made to clarify that certain criminal offences in contravention of regulations made under the Firearms Act and any other Act of Parliament could be utilized to render a foreign national inadmissible to Canada.

Q 28. What is the purpose of the proposed restrictions on ammunition import?

A 28. The proposed amendments would require that a firearms licence be presented by residents and non-residents when importing ammunition, other than prohibited ammunition, into Canada. This would prevent an individual from crossing the border with ammunition they cannot lawfully buy domestically. This amendment would support the laws already in place for the sale of ammunition in Canada.

Q 29. What is the purpose of the proposal to centralize approval of Authorizations to Carry?

A 29. This Firearms Act proposal would make the Commissioner of Firearms the only person who could issue an Authorization to Carry to private citizens for restricted firearms or handguns for protection of life. They would only be granted in cases of immediate threat to life and where police protection may be insufficient (e.g., in remote areas).

Q 30. Why place restrictions on the depiction of violence in firearms advertising?

A 30. While this has not been a common problem in Canada, this Firearms Act proposal would provide strong penalties to respond to and deter the depiction of firearms violence in business advertising. The aim is to limit glorification of violence in firearms marketing and sales. It would create an offence under the Firearms Act to prohibit business advertising that depicts, counsels or promotes firearms violence against a person, with a maximum of two years imprisonment for a first offence and five years for each subsequent offence. The provision is agnostic of the media used in the advertising.

Q 31. What is proposed for the Bank of Canada and Royal Canadian Mint?

A 31. This Criminal Code proposal would allow Bank of Canada and Royal Canadian Mint security personnel to possess and carry prohibited firearms for the purposes of performing their duties.

Q 32. What changes are proposed to the Nuclear Safety and Control Act?

A 32. This proposal would grant nuclear licensees the ability to acquire directly and arm its nuclear response force personnel with assault-style firearms prohibited on May 1, 2020. It would also extend limited peace officer status to designated security personnel at nuclear sites.

Q 33. What is the government doing to reduce gang activity?

A 33. Since 2018, the Government has made significant investments to address gun and gang violence. This includes a five-year investment of $358.8 million for the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence to help support a variety of measures to reduce gun crime and criminal gang activities. Of this amount, we have made $214 million available to the provinces and territories to help respond to their specific needs and bolster local prevention, gang exit, outreach and awareness programming. These resources complement existing efforts under the National Crime Prevention Strategy through the Youth Gang Prevention Fund, which received additional $8 million over four years, beginning in 2019.

In March 2022, the Government announced an additional five-year investment of $250 million for municipalities and Indigenous communities through the Building Safer Communities Fund to support community-based prevention and intervention programs to address the root causes of gun and gang violence.

Q 34. What is the Government doing to crack down on the illegal manufacturing of firearms (ghost guns, 3D printing)?

A 34. The Government recognizes that criminals are ingenious in exploiting technology. It is committed to continue to explore measures to ensure these illegally manufactured firearms do not gain a foothold.

In withdrawn amendment G4, the Government had proposed to define “firearm part” under section 84 of the Criminal Code to mean any firearm barrel or slide of a handgun to address increasing trends of illegal manufacturing of firearms. These parts are integral to the function of the firearm and are quite difficult to replace and/or manufacture using 3D printing. The Government had also proposed to deem any unlawfully manufactured firearm to be a prohibited firearm. These measures would have responded to calls to address ghost guns, including the 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.” The Government believes that these parts of G4 are still important to protect Canadians.

Furthermore, all firearms, regardless of how they are manufactured, are subject to the Firearms Act, the Criminal Code and their associated regulations.

It is illegal to manufacture or possess any firearm — including a 3D-printed firearm — without the appropriate business licence issued by a Chief Firearms Officer.

It is a Criminal Code offence for any person to manufacture any firearm or ammunition knowing that they are not authorized to do so. This comes with a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years and includes mandatory minimum penalties of imprisonment that vary depending on the circumstances.

Q 35. What initiatives support the prevention of firearms suicide and mental health issues related to firearms?

A 35. Under the proposed “red and yellow” flag regimes, individuals, such as health professionals, family and friends, could petition the courts or CFOs, respectively, to remove or limit the access to firearms by individuals who pose a risk to themselves or other people.

This would be supported by a new program to create awareness and provide tools to vulnerable and marginalized groups, including people with mental health issues to make certain that the red and yellow flag laws are accessible to all.

Measures that reduce the legal ownership of firearms, including the new proposed handgun restrictions, would reduce their use in suicides.

Q 36. How is the Government addressing concerns raised by and about Indigenous sustenance hunters?

A 36. The 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 capture 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.

Q 37. Will there be an impact on Indigenous peoples' section 35 hunting rights under the Constitution Act, 1982?

A 37. The Government will continue to engage, consult, and collaborate with Indigenous peoples to consider establishing measures to lessen any potential impact on individuals that exercise s. 35 hunting rights. The measures could include tailored exceptions for sustenance hunting and trapping, and employment.

Q 38. How long should Canadians be expecting to wait to see these provisions come into force?

A 38. All of the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code will come into force on Royal Assent.

The proposed amendments to the Nuclear Safety and Control Act to authorize nuclear security officers to use prohibited firearms and serve as peace officers will come into force with an Order in Council.

The CBSA's legislative and regulatory amendments under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act will come into force on Royal Assent.

Certain Firearms Act amendments will come into force on Royal Assent.

The remaining proposed amendments to the Firearms Act will require regulatory changes, and will come into force with an Order in Council.

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