Order Fixing May 18, 2022 as the Day on Which Certain Sections and Subsections of that Act Come into Force: SI/2022-24

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 156, Number 10

Registration
SI/2022-24 May 11, 2022

AN ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN ACTS AND REGULATIONS IN RELATION TO FIREARMS

Order Fixing May 18, 2022 as the Day on Which Certain Sections and Subsections of that Act Come into Force

P.C. 2022-446 April 29, 2022

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, pursuant to subsections 22(4) and (5) of An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms, chapter 9 of the Statutes of Canada, 2019, fixes May 18, 2022 as the day on which sections 5, 7 and 9 to 11, subsections 13(1) and (3) and section 14 of that Act come into force.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order, pursuant to section 22 of An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms (chapter 9 of the Statutes of Canada, 2019), fixes May 18, 2022, as the day on which sections 5, 7, 9, 10, and 11, and subsections 13(1) and 13(3), and section 14 of that Act come into force.

Objective

The objective of this Order is to set the coming-into-force date for certain provisions of An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms that are intended to reduce the number of non-restricted firearms being provided to individuals who do not hold a valid firearms licence and to improve firearm tracing success rates.

This Order supports the Government of Canada’s ongoing commitment to reduce firearms crime and strengthen Canada’s firearms control regime to keep Canadians safe. It supports the Minister of Public Safety’s mandate letter commitment of December 16, 2021, to “[continue] implementation of C-71 regulations for firearms licence verification and business record-keeping.”

Background

To strengthen firearms laws in Canada and to keep communities safe from gun violence, the Government introduced Bill C-71, An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms (the Act), in March 2018. The Act amended the Firearms Act to uphold the commitments the Government made to Canadians to enhance background checks and licence verification; standardize existing best business practices among retailers regarding record-keeping; ensure that firearms classification decisions will be made impartially; and bolster safeguards related to the transportation of restricted or prohibited firearms, while not impeding the lawful use of firearms. The Act received royal assent on June 21, 2019.

On July 7, 2021, provisions related to expanded background checks for licence applications to cover the entire lifetime of an applicant’s history and the requirement to seek Authorization to Transport (ATT) for restricted and prohibited firearms to most locations were brought into force.

This Order brings into force two further components of the Act, namely the requirement to (1) verify a transferee’s licence for transfers of non-restricted firearms; and (2) maintain business inventory and sales records respecting non-restricted firearms.

Licence verification (sections 5, 9, 10, 11, and subsection 13(1))

Section 5 of the Act requires any individual or business transferor (i.e. vendor or provider) of non-restricted firearms to

Section 9 provides a statutory basis for which a chief firearms officer (CFO) may revoke that person’s licence if a transferor (i.e. the seller) transfers a non-restricted firearm in a manner other than described above.

Section 10 requires the Registrar to maintain records for each request for a reference number and, if the request is refused, the reasons for refusing the request. It also requires the Registrar to keep records of all reference numbers issued, including the day it was issued and the licence numbers of the transferor and transferee. This section also makes minor adjustments to the French versions of certain Registrar record provisions for improved concordance with the English version.

Section 11 repeals the ability of the person (a Canadian Firearms Program [CFP] employee) responding to a request for a voluntary licence verification check made under section 23.1 of the Firearms Act to have a right of access to records kept by a CFO. This voluntary request ability is replaced with the mandatory licence verification scheme described above, so the voluntary check provision has been eliminated.

Subsection 13(1) creates a regulatory power to establish the provision of information by a transferor and a transferee to the Registrar. This information provision includes the firearms licence information the transferee must provide to the transferor, the validity period for a reference number issued by the Registrar, and the additional information that may be required for online and other transfers. In preparing for implementation, Public Safety Canada is concurrently making supporting regulatory amendments to specify that the transferee of a non-restricted firearm is required to provide the information contained on the front of their firearms licence card to the seller (licence number, name, date of birth, date of expiration, photograph, height, gender, and eye colour), who then requests a reference from the Registrar of Firearms, who in turn authorizes the transfer by confirming the validity of the transferee’s licence. As part of the process to request a reference number, the transferor will be required to provide to the Registrar the transferee’s licence number and other information the Registrar requests to meet the Registrar’s obligations under the Firearms Act.

Business record-keeping (section 7, subsection 13(3), and section 14)

Through the authority of section 117 of the Firearms Act, section 7 of the Act introduces provisions that require firearms businesses that transfer or possess non-restricted firearms to maintain records related to the possession and disposal (e.g. sale) of those firearms. This will be effected through new conditions that CFOs must attach to each business licence. Businesses are also required to maintain records of all transfers of non-restricted firearms, including the reference number issued by the Registrar (see the previous section), the day on which the reference number was issued, the transferee’s licence number, and the firearm’s make, model, type, and serial number (if available). Businesses must transmit their inventory and sales records for non-restricted firearms to the Registrar of Firearms if they cease to be a business (e.g. via bankruptcy). The Registrar may destroy these files after a prescribed period.

Subsection 13(3) creates a regulatory power to govern the transmission of records of defunct businesses to the prescribed official (Registrar of Firearms). In conjunction with the regulations for business record-keeping, in the event that a business ceases to be a business, it is required to submit its business records to the Registrar. These records will be held for 20 years from the day they are received by the Registrar, following which they may be destroyed.

Section 14 clarifies that all existing business licences are deemed to include the requirement listed above when the Act comes into force on May 18, 2022.

Implications

Components of the Act related to licence verification and business record-keeping were not brought into force upon royal assent in June 2019 in order to allow time for Public Safety Canada to develop the supporting regulations in consultation with stakeholders. In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) needed time to prepare for implementation. In particular, information management (IM) and information technology (IT) systems changes needed to be developed to support the licence verification requests. The CFP is now prepared to launch these above-noted system updates at the coming into force of the legislative and regulatory requirements. Updates have been made to the CFP’s core digital systems, including the Canadian Firearms Information System (CFIS), as well as the Individual Web Services (IWS) and the Business Web Services (BWS) portals.

Sections 5, 7, 9, 10, and 11, and subsections 13(1) and 13(3), and section 14 of the Act, and the supporting regulatory amendments on licence verification and business record-keeping, will come into force at the same time on May 18, 2022.

Public Safety Canada, in conjunction with the CFP, will communicate the coming into force of the Act and associated regulatory amendments to the public via the CFP website. Information will also be made available via telephone through the CFP Contact Centre. Furthermore, the CFP will use communication products (e.g. proactive emails to licensees to raise awareness) to help firearms licence holders and businesses prepare for implementation. The CFP website will also provide guidance to all licensees (individuals and businesses) to support the transition. Contact information will be included in the communication materials, should individuals or businesses require additional support.

Impact on firearm owners and businesses

Once the regulations for licence verification are in force, any individual or business will be required to obtain a reference number from the Registrar prior to transferring a non-restricted firearm. A reference number can be obtained in one of two ways. The first method will be via the IWS or the BWS portals. If, on the basis of the information provided by the transferor, the Registrar is satisfied that the transferee holds, and is still eligible to hold, a licence authorizing the transferee to acquire and possess non-restricted firearms, a reference number will be issued in the form of a formal notice (a PDF document) to the accounts of both the transferor and the transferee. Both parties will also receive an email advising them that this notice has been uploaded to their accounts. If, on the basis of the information provided by the transferor, the Registrar is not satisfied that the transferee holds, and is still eligible, to hold a licence authorizing the transferee to acquire and possess non-restricted firearms, a reference number will not be issued, and a formal notice (a PDF document) stating this fact will be uploaded to the accounts of both the transferor and the transferee. Both parties will also receive an email advising them that this notice has been uploaded to their accounts. In the event that a reference number cannot be issued, both parties will be invited to contact the CFP Call Centre to obtain further information, and rectify any uncertainties or data errors that may have resulted in the refusal. As this process will be automated, responses should be received instantaneously.

Alternately, individuals or businesses can call the CFP Call Centre directly to request a reference number, providing the requisite information. The checks described above will be performed in real time and the caller should receive an immediate answer. In the event a reference number cannot be issued, the client service agent with whom the caller is speaking will be able to resolve any uncertainties or data errors in real time. Callers will be able to choose reception of the formal notification (either of a reference number, or a refusal) either by email or by post.

As a result of the coming into force of legislative and associated regulatory amendments related to business record-keeping, businesses will be required to keep records of their inventory and transfer of all non-restricted firearms, consisting of up to six distinct categories of information. It is estimated that the time to record each non-restricted firearm will take five minutes. Data on firearms inventories held by private businesses are not available; however, most businesses already keep detailed records of transactions of non-restricted firearms as a matter of good business practice (e.g. to facilitate returns or exchanges, or for purposes of insurance or verifying the warranty). Businesses will be permitted to maintain the required records in any format they wish (e.g. hardcopy in a physical ledger or with the use of an electronic inventory system), so long as all the components of the information prescribed in the regulations are captured.

It is anticipated that the new business record-keeping provisions will substantially improve firearm tracing success rates for non-restricted firearms above the current average of 18% annually. This may in turn result in more firearms offence convictions, unearth straw purchasing operations, and return stolen firearms to their rightful owners.

A fulsome discussion of the costs and benefits associated with this Order is provided in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement for the regulatory amendments (Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Firearms Act) that will complement the coming-into-force of these provisions.

With respect to privacy considerations, personal information is collected by the CFP through an application for a firearms licence (whether a new application or renewal), which is recorded in the CFIS. Through this process, applicants acknowledge that the information contained in the application is obtained under the authority of the Firearms Act and that it will be used to determine eligibility and to administer and enforce the firearms legislation. This information is protected by the Privacy Act.

Transferees will be required to give the information on the front of their licence card to transferors to enable the licence verification request. Related regulatory amendments will require businesses to provide a transferee’s firearms licence number and other information requested by the Registrar for the purposes of the issuance of a reference number under section 23 of the Act. Businesses may choose to retain other firearms licence information for their own purposes. If they do, the use and disclosure of that information will be governed by the applicable provincial or territorial privacy legislation governing businesses, or the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, in the event where no such privacy legislation exists.

Records that are transmitted by defunct firearms businesses to the Registrar could contain personal information (e.g. names and addresses of private citizens and commercial entities). This information is subject to exemption from disclosure as “third party commercial confidential information” under the Access to Information Act, and in some cases (e.g. records of transfers of non-restricted firearms to individuals), information that is protected under the Privacy Act. Only the Registrar will access the former business records. They will not be linked in any way to the existing CFIS, and judicial production orders will be required in all cases of law enforcement seeking access to information of former businesses.

Consultations

As part of the development of the Bill C-71 amendments, the Government of Canada consulted a broad range of groups and individuals. This includes the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee (CFAC), which met three times on the matter between March 2017 and March 2018. Committee members have included civilian firearm users, farmers, hunters and sport shooters, law enforcement, public health organizations, women’s groups, a representative from an Indigenous organization, and the legal community.

Further, stakeholders had an opportunity to appear before, and provide submissions to, the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security and the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence when the Act was under review in Parliament.

Proposed supportive regulatory amendments were then prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on June 26, 2021, for a 30-day consultation period, to provide interested parties with an opportunity to comment on the proposal. Public Safety Canada officials conducted targeted engagement by proactively reaching out to firearms organizations, such as the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association (CSAAA), the National Firearms Association (NFA), and the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights (CCFR), to ensure that the views of business owners and firearms owners who will be required to fulfill the regulatory requirements were taken into consideration. Similarly, Public Safety Canada officials engaged stakeholder groups that advocate for gun control and on behalf of victims of gun violence, including PolyRemembers, the Coalition for Gun Control, Doctors for Protection Against Guns, women’s organizations, such as the Canadian Women’s Foundation, and all of the recognized national Indigenous organizations, such as the Assembly of First Nations, to notify them of the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes.

Public Safety Canada received 78 comments for consideration on the proposed legislative and regulatory approach. A fulsome discussion of the comments received is provided in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement for the regulatory amendments that will complement the coming-into-force of these provisions. The input received was analyzed by officials, and it was determined that one change would be implemented, to increase clarity with respect to the required transmission of information.

Contact

Firearms and Operational Policy Division
Email: ps.firearms-armesafeu.sp@ps-sp.gc.ca