Article: Registration of prohibited and restricted firearms
Commissioner of Firearms
The Canadian Firearms Registry () is the gun registry of Canada, requiring the registration of all restricted and prohibited firearms in the country. It is managed by the Canadian Firearms Program of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as part of the RCMP's responsibilities under the Firearms Act, 1995.
The registry was introduced by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in 1993 and implemented by successive justice ministers Allan Rock and Anne McLellan. The net annual operating cost of the program was originally estimated to be $2 million.
Originally, the program required the registration of all non-restricted firearms but this requirement was dropped on April 6, 2012, by the coming into force of Bill C-19. Bill C-19 also mandated the destruction of the non-restricted records of the registry as soon as feasible. The province of Quebec immediately filed a request for an injunction to prevent the destruction of the data. A temporary injunction was granted by the Superior Court of Quebec on April 5, 2012 to prevent the data for Quebec residents from being destroyed until legal arguments could be heard. On March 27, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Quebec (AG) v Canada (AG) that the destruction of long-gun registry records was within the constitutional power of Parliament to make criminal law, denying the Government of Quebec's legal challenge and allowing for those records to be destroyed.
History
Canada had a gun registry during the Second World War, when all people were compelled to register their firearms out of fear of enemy subversion. This registry in Canada was discontinued after the war; however, all handguns (restricted) have been subject to registration since 1934. In addition, fully automatic firearms have been prohibited (with grandfathering exemptions to existing, licensed collectors of full-automatic weapons and theatrical users) since 1977. A Firearms Acquisition Certificate (FAC) was required to purchase any firearm since its implementation in 1977, although additional restrictions applied for handguns (restricted - 1934) and fully automatic firearms (prohibited −1977). To obtain an FAC, no training was required until the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and Test program (non-restricted, restricted, or combined courses/tests) was created as a prerequisite in Bill C-17 in 1991. This formal training, once common in families and even schools, has been credited with the marked reduction of accidents involving the improper handling of firearms. Under bill C-17 (1991), and subsequent legislation and/or orders in council, short-barreled handguns and those firing .25 ACP and .32 ACP ammunition, and all handguns with a barrel length under 105mm (~4.1"), with the exception of certain guns typically used in shooting competitions, were added to the list of prohibited firearms. In addition, a large reclassification of firearms was made to place many firearms with certain cosmetic and functional characteristics into the category and registration of 'restricted' or 'prohibited' firearms. Some classes of these firearms have also been subject to grandfathering provisions of the law to owners and collectors, including some limited allowances of willing/gifting certain prohibited firearms to a family member to preserve them for historic value as pre-1945 collectors pieces.
The École Polytechnique massacre—a mass shooting incident on December 6, 1989, in which Marc Lépine used a Mini-14 rifle to shoot 28 people, including 14 women killed, before committing suicide—sparked a substantial rise in activism to tighten Canada's gun licensing and registry legislation. The first steps toward the Canadian long-gun registry began under the federal Progressive Conservative Party government of Prime Minister Kim Campbell. It was the child of former Conservative Senator Nathan Nurgitz, who wrote then Prime Minister Campbell requesting all guns be registered.
May 1990 – Justice Minister Kim Campbell introduces Bill C-80, which improves the FAC screening process, defines safe storage, bans some military weapons and large-capacity magazines, but, notably, does not ban semi-automatic weapons such as the Ruger Mini-14, register firearms, or control the sale of ammunition.
November 1990 – In an almost unprecedented turn of events, because of opposition in Kim Campbell's own Conservative caucus, Bill C-80 fails second reading and is sent to a "Special Committee."
November 1990 – February 1991 – The Special Committee on Bill C-80 conducts hearings.
March 1991 – Parliament prorogues and Bill C-80 dies on the order paper.
April 1991 – Student activists from l'École Polytechnique, along with family members of the victims of the massacre, police organizations, health care professionals, organized labor, and others banded together with the existing Canadians for Gun Control organization to form the Coalition for Gun Control. The Coalition holds its first national press conference in Ottawa with representatives from the Canadian Police Association, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Victims of Polytechnique, the Canadian Criminal Justice Association, and others calling on the Government to reintroduce gun-control legislation.
May 1991 – Justice Minister Kim Campbell unveils Bill C-17, a revised version of Bill C-80. The first witness, the Minister of Justice, argues that the Standing Committee on Justice and the Solicitor General do not need to conduct extensive hearings but should send the bill back to the House of Commons for third reading. Gun organizations push for hearings in an effort to weaken the bill. Gun-control advocates push for hearings in order to strengthen the bill. The National Action Committee on the Status of Women storms the hearings, arguing that women have the right to be heard, and the bill is subsequently sent to the Standing Committee on Justice and the Solicitor General.
May–September 1991 – The Legislative Committee hears witnesses on both sides. This time,the Coalition for Gun Control appears with support from health-care, crime-prevention and other experts. Its position is endorsed by over 50 groups and 5000 individuals. The Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women recommends improvements to the bill to counter problems with guns in domestic violence. Both the Canadian Police Association and Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police advocate registration of all firearms. In response to an advertising campaign by the gun lobby, the Coalition issues a joint statement in support of Bill C-17, with additional measures such as registration of all firearms. The statement is signed by hundreds of community leaders, chiefs of police, and violence-prevention organizations and issued to all MPs and Senators. A campaign by the Coalition lands over 300,000 postcards on MPs' desks, calling for amendments to strengthen the law. The Liberal and NDP parties support the position of the Coalition for Gun Control advocating licensing of firearm owners and registration of firearms.
November 7, 1991 – The House of Commons passes Bill C-17. Members of all four political parties acknowledge the efforts of the Coalition for Gun Control.
November–December 1991 – The Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs reviews the legislation. Priscilla DeVilliers, whose daughter Nina was killed months earlier, and John Bickerstaff, whose son Lee was accidentally killed by a friend playing with his father's service revolver, testify.
December 5, 1991 – Bill C-17 passes Senate. Legal and Constitutional Affairs Chair, Senator Nathan Nurgitz, writes to Justice Minister Kim Campbell advising her to look carefully at the regulations and to registration of all firearms.
Bill C-68
The Firearms Act was created by Bill C-68, An Act Respecting Firearms and Other Weapons, which was introduced in 1993, and aimed at the licensing of all gun owners and registration of all firearms. The bill also classified replica firearms as prohibited devices, with those already owned being grandfathered. It was passed by Parliament and given Royal Assent in 1995. The Canadian Firearms Centre was established in 1996 to oversee the administration of its measures.
The registration portion of the Firearms Act was implemented in 1995 and the deadline for gun owners to register their non-restricted firearms was January 1, 2003. There is disagreement on the percentage of gun-owners who complied with the registry. The Law-Abiding Unregistered Firearms Association estimated that over 70% of all firearms in Canada were never registered. Meanwhile, the Coalition for Gun Control claimed that ninety per cent of all gun owners registered their firearms, representing ninety percent of guns.
Debate on the registry
Initial opposition
Political opposition to the registry, particularly outside of Canada's major cities, was immediate. The provincial governments of Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador also attacked the bill arguing it exceeded the federal government's mandate and arguing that it was too expensive; however the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the registry in Reference re Firearms Act.
Canadian PM seeks to abandon gun registry
The Conservative Party of Canada campaigned for many years to repeal portions of the registry related to non-restricted firearms and did so on April 5, 2012.
Cost overruns
The registry again became a political issue in the early 2000s when cost overruns were reported.
In early 2000, the Canadian Firearms Program released a report that showed that implementation costs were rising. Major backlogs in registration—largely as a result of firearm owners waiting until the last minute to apply—general increase in costs, fee waivers for early applications, and high error rates in applications submitted by firearm owners were all cited as contributing factors to the rising costs.
In December 2002, the Auditor General of Canada, Sheila Fraser, reported that the project was running vastly above initial cost estimates. The report showed that the implementation of the firearms registry program by the Department of Justice has had significant strategic and management problems throughout. Taxpayers were originally expected to pay only $2 million of the budget while registration fees would cover the rest. In 1995, the Department of Justice reported to Parliament that the system would cost $119 million to implement, and that the income generated from licensing fees would be $117 million. This gives a net cost of $2 million. At the time of the 2002 audit, however, the revised estimates from the Department of Justice were that the cost of the whole gun control program would be more than $1 billion by 2004-05 and that the income from licence fees in the same period would be $140 million.
Information technology expenditures were disproportionally high especially throughout the program’s early development. However, the program was not
exceptional compared to other government-run programs with large IT projects. A 2006 report by the Auditor General regarding large IT Projects demonstrates that after more than a full decade of IT projects had passed within the government since its last IT audit, and whereby a TB Framework had been developed for IT, only two of the seven large IT projects assessed met all audit criteria for well-managed projects. When CFP was merged into the RCMP in 2006, IT comprised almost 50% of total program expenditures – the industry standard is 20-30%. By 2009, costs had stabilized to 21-27% of direct program expenditures and were expected to be reduced further within the existing RCMP IT architecture.
Allegations of improper lobbying
In January 2006, Tony Bernardo, director of the 12,000-member Canadian Shooting Sports Association, asked the RCMP to probe a Liberal Party consultant over a $380,000 contract that was awarded to lobby the federal government for funds for the ailing firearms registry. The five-month contract was awarded by the Justice Department in March 2003 to lobby the federal Solicitor General, Treasury Board and Privy Council, according to a detailed lobbyist report. No formal probe by the RCMP resulted. Bernardo asked rhetorically, "[isn't it] inappropriate for the Federal Government to hire a private lobbyist with taxpayers' dollars to lobby itself?"
Effects on public safety
There are conflicting views on the effectiveness of the Gun Registry from a public safety standpoint.
In a Canada Firearms Centre (CAFC) survey, 74% of general duty police officers stated that the registry "query
results have proven beneficial during major operations.".
However, the Auditor General's report found that the program did not collect data to analyze the effectiveness of the gun registry in meeting its stated goal of improving public safety. The report states:
The performance report focuses on activities such as issuing licences and registering firearms. The Centre does not show how these activities help minimize risks to public safety with evidence-based outcomes such as reduced deaths, injuries and threats from firearms.
Former Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino opposed the gun registry, stating in a press release in 2003:
We have an ongoing gun crisis including firearms-related homicides lately in Toronto, and a law registering firearms has neither deterred these crimes nor helped us solve any of them. None of the guns we know to have been used were registered, although we believe that more than half of them were smuggled into Canada from the United States. The firearms registry is long on philosophy and short on practical results considering the money could be more effectively used for security against terrorism as well as a host of other public safety initiatives." However, in 2010, the OPP had representation on the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police(CACP)'s Special Subcommittee on Firearms, from January–August 2010, and voted in favour of retaining the long gun registry at the CACP AGM.
Meanwhile, Edgar MacLeod, former president of the CACP, states that "while the cost of the registry had become an embarrassment, the program works and provides a valuable service. In a typical domestic violence situation," he says, "investigating police officers rely on the registry to determine if guns are present. Onboard computers in police cruisers, or a call to central dispatch, alerts [sic] officers to any firearms registered to occupants of the house."
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police are strongly supportive of the gun registry, claiming that getting rid of the registry will make Canada less safe, and compromise the ability of law enforcement to deal effectively with gun violence. However, support for the registry among Chiefs of Police is not unanimous. There have also been serious questions raised regarding donations made to the CACP by CGI Group, the corporation behind the registry. These donations were partially responsible for the resignation of ethicist Dr. John Jones from the CACP's ethics committee. Furthermore, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has been criticized for suppressing opposition to the registry among its own law enforcement officers. These allegations have been disputed.
There is also debate as to whether frontline police officers oppose the registry. Opponents of the registry cite an online straw poll to suggest 92% regular officers believe that the registry is ineffective and should be dismantled; that poll, conducted by Cst. Randy Kuntz of the Edmonton Police Service, was open to active police members only through an online forum in a popular police-related magazine where respondents were all confirmed Canadian police officers. In addition to this, Cst. Kuntz solicited input from members of police forces across Canada through various means of advertising to promote awareness of this poll. After approximately fourteen months, 2631 Canadian police officers (of about 69,000 total, or 3.8%) responded to this survey. Of the 2631 respondents, 2410 voted to scrap the registry. Meanwhile, an RCMP report shows 81% of police officers are in favour of the registry.
A survey in August 2010 revealed that 72 percent of Canadians believe the long-gun registry has done nothing to prevent crime. Organizations like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation have circulated petitions to end the registry and have collected tens of thousands of signatures supporting the elimination of the registry.
In April 2011, a survey was conducted by the Edmonton Police Association. Its members voted 81 percent in favour of scrapping the long-gun registry.
The coming into force of Bill C-19 removes the requirement to register 'non-restricted' firearms. All firearms classified as 'restricted' or 'prohibited' by law and orders in council in 1934, 1977, 1991, 1996, and subsequently would remain registered and unchanged. A Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL), and the prerequisite exam, is mandatory to purchase or possess any firearm. Hunter education programs are a requirement of all hunters in Canada.
Privacy and security issues
The information contained in the firearms registry is available to police through the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC). This database is one of many applications which are protected under the National Police Service Network (NPSN).
In a 2001 Access to Information Request, the RCMP explained that they do not record statistics on which applications are targeted by hackers. As a result, they do not know how many times the Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) database has been breached. Chief Superintendent David Gork, Departmental Security Officer, is quoted as saying, CPIC is but one of many applications that are protected on the NPSN (National Police Service Network) and attacks on the network cannot be broken down as to which application is the intent of the attack. In general, attacks are to gain access through the protective measures, and from there to 'look around' for opportunities as to where the attacker 'can go'. Therefore there are no stats that are collected that would indicate where any attacks are directed with the NPSN.
In his final response to the Access to Information request, the Information Commissioner concluded, During the course of our investigation, my investigator met with officials from the RCMP and was provided with a detailed and comprehensive explanation regarding the department's security systems. They confirmed that CPIC is one of many applications protected within the National Police Service Network and there is no way of determining what application is being targeted, if an unauthorized access is being attempted.
John Hicks, an Orillia-area computer consultant, and webmaster for the Canada Firearms Centre, has said that anyone with a home computer could have easily accessed names, addresses and detailed shopping lists (including make, model and serial number) of registered guns belonging to licensed firearms owners. Hicks told the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) that "During my tenure as the CFC webmaster I duly informed management that the website that interfaced to the firearms registry was flawed. It took some $15 million to develop and I broke inside into it within 30 minutes."
The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters questioned the security of the gun registry after a home invasion that seemed to target a licensed gun collector. The OFAH argued that, in the wrong hands, a database detailing the whereabouts of every legally-owned firearm in Canada is a potential shopping list for criminals.
In response to these privacy and security claims, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Police Association, and the Canadian Association of Police Boards released a joint statement claiming that, "The CFP's national database has never been breached by hackers. Information is safe and secure."
Usage
The RCMP Canadian Firearms Program produces a quarterly report called Facts and Figures. The information most often quoted in the media is the total number of queries, in the section entitled Average Daily Queries to the CFRO (Canadian Firearms Registry On-line). This number is what is commonly used to determine how often the registry is accessed by police officers. Changes to the system and the level of automation have resulted in the total number of queries increasing dramatically since the RCMP began tracking these numbers in 2003.
2003 – 1,813; 2004 – 2,087; 2005 – 4,101; 2006 – 6,650; 2007 – 7,109; 2008 – 9,606; 2009 – 11,347; 2010 – 14,729; 2011 – 17,782; 2012 – 18,555
As of June 2010, the CFRO is reportedly accessed 14,012 times per day. Only 530 (3.7%) of those "hits" are specific to firearms registration (licence number, serial number and certificate number). The remaining 13,482 (96.3%) are automatically generated every time an address is checked or a licence plate is verified. Officers claim that these automatic checks are valuable to them since they now know if the person or address whom they are researching has registered firearms and where they are. Officers claim that they feel safer knowing about present firearms when addressing a call, specifically in rural regions with domestic violence calls.
While there is reliable information to suggest how many times per day police officers access the firearms registry, the mostly non-automatic inclusion of this information in vehicle and address reports, whereby police must specifically request the information, is considered by many to be a valuable policing tool.
Current status
The Conservative minority government that was elected in both 2006 and 2008 had a platform calling for a repeal of portions of the registry, but did not successfully alter legislation on the registry. However, the government brought forward regulatory changes to bring in an amnesty for rifle and shotgun owners facing prosecution for failing to register their firearms. The government extended this one-year amnesty four times, with the most recent amnesty having expired on May 16, 2011.
In 2009, the Conservative government supported a Private Member's Bill (C-391) which proposed to repeal the portion of the requirement requiring the registration of non-restricted firearms, but would have continued the registration requirement for guns classified as restricted. Despite every other party leader in the House of Commons opposing the bill, Bill C-391 passed second reading in the House of Commons in November 2009 by a vote of 164 to 137 due to eight Liberal MPs, 12 New Democrats and one independent voting with the minority Conservative government.
In response to Liberal MPs breaking party ranks to support Bill C-391, Liberal Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff announced on April 19, 2010, that Liberal MPs would be whipped to vote against C-391 and other proposals by the Conservative government to kill the long-gun (non-restricted) portion of the registry, with the condition that the party will instead support a reduction in the severity of penalties for those who fail to successfully register. The NDP did not enforce a party stance on parliamentary votes regarding the registry in relation to Bill C-391, as it was a Private Member's Bill. A third reading on September 22, 2010, failed to pass by a narrow margin (153 to 151). Six NDP MPs and the Conservative caucus favoured the bill, while the remaining NDP MPs, the Liberal Party and the Bloc Québécois opposed it.
The Conservatives won a majority in the 2011 election; during the campaign, party leader Stephen Harper reiterated his party's support for eliminating registration of non-restricted long guns.
On October 25, 2011, the government introduced Bill C-19, legislation to remove the requirement to register non-restricted firearms. The bill additionally mandated the destruction of all records pertaining to the registration of non-restricted firearms currently contained in the Canadian Firearms Registry and under the control of the chief firearms officers. The bill passed second reading in the House of Commons (156 to 123). On February 15, 2012, Bill C-19 was passed in the House of Commons (159 to 130) with support from the Conservatives and two NDP MPs. On April 4, 2012, Bill C-19 passed third reading in the Senate by a vote of 50–27 and received royal assent from the Governor General on April 5.
Upon passage of Bill C-19, the Province of Quebec moved for a motion to prevent the destruction of the Quebec portion of the records. A temporary injunction was granted on April 5, 2012 in order to leave enough time for proper legal arguments to be heard. On March 27, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled against Quebec, allowing the destruction of the long-gun registry records.
On September 8, 2014, an appeal by the Barbra Schlifer Clinic to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to rule that the withdrawal of the non-restricted firearms registration requirement was unconstitutional was denied. The applicants sought to show that the removal of the registration requirement denied women their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to: "life, liberty and security of the person". In its judgment the court ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to conclude that the registration of non-restricted firearms had been of any measurable benefit to women and that statistically rates of firearms-related violence had been following a trend downward before the requirement was introduced and had not changed after the requirement had been withdrawn.
See also
Gun politics in Canada
Possession and Acquisition Licence
Dominion of Canada Rifle Association
References
Canadian PM seeks to abandon gun registry |
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TIMELINE | The gun registry debate | CBC News Loaded
Canada · Timeline
TIMELINE | The gun registry debate
A look at the key moments in the gun registry debate, and the rising costs over time.
Implementing the Firearms Act
CBC News ·
Posted: Oct 09, 2009 10:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 25, 2011
A man replaces a shotgun in the rack in a downtown Montreal outdoor store. Jan. 1, 2003, was the deadline for gun owners to register their non-restricted firearms under Canada's new gun-registry program.
(Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press) Social Sharing
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews opened a new chapter in the long saga of Canada's gun registry on Oct. 25, 2011, by introducing a bill to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act. If passed, the new act will eliminate the requirement to obtain a registration certificate for firearms that are neither prohibited nor restricted and order the destruction of all records held in the long-gun registry.
The Harper government tried to kill the registry while a minority government. But now, with a majority, its goal appears within reach.
Here's a look at the key moments in the gun registry debate, and the rising costs over time.
1995
A bumper sticker on the back of a pickup truck near High River, Alta, at the height of the 2008 federal election campaign shows the gun registry was a highly debated issue.
(Bill Graveland/Canadian Press)
Bill C-68, the strictest gun-control legislation in Canadian history, receives Senate approval. It calls for harsher penalties for crimes involving the use of guns, creates the Firearms Act and requires that gun owners be licensed and registered. The government says the registry will cost about $119 million, but the revenue generated by registration fees would mean taxpayers would only be on the hook for $2 million.
2000
In a report released early in 2000, the Canadian Firearms Program notes that implementation costs are rising, and cites the following as contributing factors:
Major backlogs in registration, largely as a result of firearm owners waiting until the last minute to apply.
General increase in costs.
Fee waivers for early applications.
High error rates in applications submitted by firearm owners.
December 2001
The cost has risen to an estimated $527 million. The Canadian Firearms Program says a major factor behind the ballooning costs was the difficulty it had keeping track of licence fees collected. This was blamed, in part, on the computer system used to process applications. And, according to the audit, that problem could not be resolved without "massive change," including "significant investment" in the computer system.
April 2002
The tab for implementing the registry rises to $629 million, according to an audit of the registry. Here is a breakdown of the bulk of the spending:
$2 million to help police enforce legislation.
At least $60 million for public-relations programs, including television commercials ($18 million of which went to ad agency GroupAction, which received millions in sponsorship scandal contracts).
$227 million in computer costs. Complicated application forms are slowing processing times and driving costs higher than anticipated.
$332 million for other programming costs, including money to pay staff to process the forms.
June 2002
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., a group overseeing the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, files a lawsuit against the federal government. The group argues the gun registry goes against an understanding that Inuit would be able to hunt, trap and fish without licensing or fees.
December 2002
Auditor General Sheila Fraser reveals that the gun-registry program is more over budget than previously thought and that Parliament was ignorant of some of those escalating costs. Fraser reports that the bill for gun registration would reach $1 billion by 2005, with registration fees offsetting that by only about $140 million.
Fraser blasted the federal government, run by the LIberals at the time, for exceeding its estimated budget, saying that by the time the smoke cleared and all gun owners and their guns were registered, the program would have cost taxpayers more than $1 billion. Opposition critics were quick to point out that figure is 500 times more than the original $2-million estimate.
A look at internal audits conducted by the Canadian Firearms Program suggested the cost of the program had been an issue from the beginning.
The story:
Auditor general takes aim at gun registry's $1-billion price tag
January 2003
Seventy-five per cent of all gun owners meet the Jan. 1, 2003, deadline for registering their non-restricted firearms, signing up 5.8 million firearms. But that doesn't stop gun owners and politicians from expressing opposition.
Days after the deadline passes, Ontario Safety and Security Minister Bob Runciman calls on the federal government to put the program on hold, calling it an "unconscionable waste of taxpayers' money." His demands are echoed by justice ministers in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
When Auditor General Sheila Fraser tabled her December 2002 report, she set her sights on Ottawa's controversial gun-registry program.
(Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Others who doubt the efficiency of the gun registry include Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino, who says the program would neither prevent crimes nor help solve them.
But Ottawa police Chief Vince Bevan pledges his support on behalf of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, saying: "We have seen ample evidence of the gaps in the old law that this legislation has addressed. If this legislation saves even one life, it will have proven its worth."
Soon after the registration deadline passes, several gun owners challenge law enforcement authorities to arrest them for possessing unregistered firearms. Jim Turnbull, leader of the Canadian Unregistered Firearms Owners Association, and another man are arrested for having firearms at a rally in Ottawa, and anti-registry protesters call the fact that Turnbull isn't charged under the Firearms Act for his unregistered gun both a moral victory and proof the new law is ineffective.
At the same time, workers at an Edmonton postal outlet are quarantined for anthrax testing after receiving a letter destined for the Canadian Firearms Centre. The letter, which contains a white, powdery substance, would be the third anthrax scare related to the gun registry. In each case, tests show no anthrax was involved.
The stories:
Police arrest two in Parliament Hill gun protest
Three provinces join Ontario's call to suspend gun registry
Gun registration deadline looms
March 2003
Despite widespread condemnation of the rising costs, the Liberals vote to bolster the gun registry with an additional $59 million in funding.
On March 24, the bill is approved on two separate votes — 173-75 and 173-76.
Some Liberal backbenchers threaten to vote with the opposition against the funding, but sit out the vote after Prime Minister Jean Chrétien threatens to expel them from caucus.
The story:
Liberals approve more spending for gun registry
July 9, 2003
Judge Robert Kilpatrick grants a temporary injunction protecting Inuit from the federal firearms registry until a lawsuit filed by Nunavut's Land Claims organization goes to court the following year. Requiring Inuit to register their guns could interfere with their traditional way of life, the judge says.
Jan. 7, 2004
Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin says the gun registry is under review. "We are committed to gun control and we are committed to the registration of weapons, but at the same time, common sense dictates that there have been a number of problems," he says. "They will be looked at and dealt with."
Competitive target shooter Charlie Bayne, seen in Wolfville, N.S., in 2006, said he would welcome an end to the federal gun registry.
(Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press) Feb. 13, 2004 Documents obtained by Zone Libre
of CBC's French news service suggest that the gun registry has cost $2 billion so far.
The story:
Gun registry cost soars to $2 billion
May 20, 2004
The Liberal government, just days before an expected election call, eliminates fees for registering and transferring firearms. Ottawa says it will also limit its spending on the gun registry to $25 million a year, spending that has averaged $33 million a year and reached as high as $48 million. Licensing of gun owners and firearms will continue.
June 2005
In the 2004 Report of the Commissioner of Firearms on the administration of the Firearms Act, the Canada Firearms Centre estimates that the cost of running the registry for the year ending Dec. 31, 2004, was less than $100 million. The report says costs are continuing their downward trend and should fall to approximately $85 million beginning in fiscal 2005-2006.
May 16, 2006
Auditor General Sheila Fraser reports that the former Liberal government twice misinformed Parliament about tens of millions of dollars of overspending at the Canada Firearms Centre. Fraser finds the planned computerized gun registry system is three years overdue and so far has cost $90 million, three times more than expected.
The story:
Liberals misinformed Parliament about millions spent on gun registry: AG
May 17, 2006
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says the Conservative government will introduce legislation to eliminate the long-gun registry. Day announces a number of measures that would effectively gut the registry while it is still in effect:
A one-year amnesty for those who have not yet registered their non-restricted firearms.
Long-gun owners will no longer have to pay to register their weapons, and the government will provide refunds to those who have already registered their long guns.
Responsibility for the registry will be transferred to the RCMP from the Canada Firearms Centre.
The annual operating budget for the program will be cut by $10 million.
The story:
Tories gut Liberals' gun registry
June 19, 2006
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has pushed to end the gun registry.
(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government introduces legislation to abolish the long-gun registry. Day introduces a bill to amend the Criminal Code and Firearms Act so that owners of non-restricted rifles and shotguns will not have to register their weapons. But the handgun registry will remain in place, as will bans on fully automatic firearms and assault weapons.
The story:
Tories table bill to kill long-gun registry
Oct. 5, 2006
Hayder Kadhim, 18, who was shot during the Dawson College rampage on Sept 13, returns to the college to crusade for better gun control in Canada and to save the gun registry. Kadhim, who was shot three times — and still has a bullet lodged in his head and neck — challenges Harper to a debate about gun control during a media interview.
The story:
Dawson shooting victim launches national gun control campaign
Feb. 22, 2007
Nunavut hunters circulate petitions to pressure the federal government to push ahead with its plans to drop the long-gun registry. According to the group, the registry is seen as a huge waste of money — ineffective and largely unnecessary in the North. Although Inuit are currently exempt from having to obtain a licence to own a firearm, the registry still causes problems in the region, because a licence is required to legally purchase ammunition.
The story:
Nunavut hunters circulate petition to end gun registry
Nov. 16, 2007
The federal government reintroduces a bill to eliminate the long-gun registry. This marks the Conservative government's second attempt to amend the Criminal Code and Firearms Act, after their first attempt, in June, failed because the last parliamentary session had been prorogued in September.
The bill would repeal the requirement for businesses and individuals to register non-restricted long guns, but gun retailers would have to record all sales of non-restricted guns, as they had been required to do before the registry came into effect.
The story:
Tories reintroduce bill to eliminate long-gun registry
April 8, 2008
A report released by the commissioner of firearms says Ottawa refunded almost $21 million to long-gun owners for licensing fees in 2006, following the Conservative government's decision to waive registration for the firearms. The report also states that police have used the gun registry more than 2.3 million times while investigating crimes and complaints in 2006, or nearly 6,500 times a day.
The story:
Nearly $21M refunded for long-gun registry fees: report
July 24, 2008
Day signs off on the long-delayed requirement for police forces to report all guns they seize in connection with crimes to the national firearms registry. Sections of the Public Agents Firearms Regulations that had not been implemented are set to finally come into effect Oct. 31 — 10 years after Parliament approved them as part of the 1998 Firearms Act.
The story:
Gun-crime reporting rules go into effect this fall
March 21, 2009
Harper appeals to members of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters to contact opposition MPs and pressure them to support legislation that would scrap the gun registry program.
The story:
PM appeals to Ont. hunters, anglers to help scrap gun registry
April 1, 2009
Harper's government introduces a bill in the Senate to abolish the long-gun registry, but not relax controls on machine-guns.
The bill marks a change in strategy for the Harper government, which had been backing the controversial Bill C-301. That bill, introduced in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz, proposed ending the registration of rifles and shotguns, as well as softening controls on machine-guns, by allowing people to transport fully automatic and semi-automatic assault guns to public shooting ranges.
The bill, which was ultimately killed, was strongly opposed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as majority of Canadians.
The revised bill introduced in the Senate is still being debated.
At the same time, another bill designed to repeal the long-gun registry, C-391, is still being considered by the House of Commons. It was introduced by Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner.
The story:
New federal bill would end long-gun registry
May 15, 2009
Treasury Board president Vic Toews announces the government's plan to extend the long-gun amnesty for another year. The second extension, Toews says, will "encourage compliance and reduce the administrative burden" on lawful gun owners as they work to comply with the registry. He also noted the Conservatives still intend to do away with the registry.
The story:
Tories extend long gun amnesty for another year
Sept. 24, 2009
The federal government asks Canada's privacy commissioner to look into whether the RCMP should have passed on personal information from the national gun registry to a pollster. The inquiry comes after some Canadian gun owners voice their anger with the RCMP for passing their personal information from the registry to a polling company for a research study. The poll was done to gauge gun owners' satisfaction with the RCMP's firearms program.
The story:
Pollster's use of gun registry details to be reviewed
Oct. 5, 2009
Documents obtained by CBC News under access to information show the Conservative government's decision to waive fees for people licensing their firearms will cost more than $15 million in 2009 alone. Should the fee waiver be extended for another three years, internal forecasts predict an additional $60 million in "projected lost revenue."
The story:
Ottawa giving up millions in gun registry fees
Nov. 4, 2009
MPs voted 164-137 on a second reading of Bill C-391, introduced earlier in the year by Hoeppner. If passed, Bill C-391 would scrap the registry and destroy existing data in the system on about seven million shotguns and rifles. The bill will now be studied by committee.
The story:
MPs vote to abolish long-gun registry
Nov. 19, 2009
An EKOS poll suggests Canadians have mixed views on what to do about the long-gun registry, with slightly more preferring to abolish the program than keep it, but nearly a third having no opinion on the subject.
Poll results indicate a slim majority of Canadians favour banning gun ownership completely, although a large number of respondents said Canadians should have the legal right to bear arms.
The story:
Canadians split over long-gun registry: poll
April 19, 2010
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says he will propose changes to make it easier for gun owners to register their firearms.
Ignatieff, speaking to the Canadian Police Association in Ottawa, says his proposed changes would give police the tools they need to make communities safe, while removing the "frustrating" elements of the registry to address "legitimate criticisms" from rural Canadians.
The story:
Ignatieff pitches long-gun registry changes
April 21, 2010
Yukon Liberal MP Larry Bagnell says he does not want to support the long-gun registry but he might be forced to do so by his boss, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.
Ignatieff said the next parliamentary vote to scrap the long-gun registry will be a whipped vote, meaning all Liberal MPs will have to vote for the party's position or face discipline.
The story:
Yukon MP torn over long-gun registry
Blog:
Ignatieff, the long-gun registry and whipping the vote
May 6, 2010
Three national police associations — The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Police Association and the Canadian Association of Police Boards — come together for the first time on Parliament Hill to defend the long-gun registry.
"This should not be about us versus them. Or rural versus urban, or even police versus politicians," said Charles Momy, who is the president of the Canadian Police Association, which represents rank-and-file officers. "The firearms registry represents a valuable tool in assisting police in doing their job. It is a valuable tool, which has significant preventative and investigative value in keeping our communities safe."
The story:
Police unite to defend long-gun registry
June 3, 2010
A Commons committee votes against proceeding with a private member's bill to eliminate the long-gun registry. Liberal, NDP and Bloc Québécois reject Tory MP Candice Hoeppner's bid to eliminate the requirement to register non-restricted firearms.
The committee's recommendation must now be put to a vote in the House of Commons.
The story:
Anti-gun registry bill hits snag
June 11, 2010
Victims of three school shootings in Montreal say they will blame federal NDP Leader Jack Layton if legislation calling for the abolition of the gun registry is adopted.
The story:
Gun registry advocates appeal to NDP
Aug. 17, 2010
The head of the Canadian Firearms Program, who is a strong supporter of the long-gun registry, is bounced out of the position, CBC News learns. RCMP Chief Supt. Marty Cheliak, director general of the program, is being sent off to French-language training after nine months on the job on orders from RCMP Commissioner William Elliott, according to police sources.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the move was not a political decision, despite opposition MPs' claims his ouster fits the Conservative government's "pattern" of dealing with dissent.
The stories:
Federal gun program head ousted
Gun program head's ouster not political: Harper
Aug. 19, 2010
RCMP Chief Supt. Pierre Perron, the new director of the Canadian Firearms Program, says he believes the current program "has contributed to officer and public safety," but he will "respect and follow any future direction" provided by Parliament.
The story:
Gun program head will follow MPs' direction
Aug. 25, 2010
An RCMP evaluation report of Canada's long-gun registry concludes that the program is cost effective, efficient and an important tool for law enforcement, CBC News has learned. The findings of the report, conducted with the help of outside auditors and completed six months ago, had been in the hands of the government since February. MPs receive copies of the RCMP report on Aug. 30.
The stories:
Long-gun registry efficient: RCMP report
MPs get RCMP long-gun registry report
Text of the RCMP report
Sept. 22, 2010
The issue comes down to a close vote in the House of Commons but the gun registry survives, with 153 MPs in favour of a motion introduced by the House public safety committee to scrap Tory MP Candice Hoeppner's bill, compared with 151 voting against the motion.
After losing the vote, Harper, is undaunted by the result, saying, "After 15 years, opposition to the long-gun registry is stronger in this country than it has ever been. With the vote tonight, its abolition is closer than it has ever been."
The story:
Gun registry survives Commons vote
April 4, 2011
While campaigning for re-election, Harper declared that his government "will scrap the long-gun registry."
The story:
Harper reaffirms vow to scrap gun registry
Oct. 25, 2011
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews introduces a bill to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act, which will eliminate the long-gun registry and order the destruction of all records held in the registry.
The story:
New long-gun registry bill would destroy records
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
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INSIDE POLITICS: What happened to the gun registry bill?
Long-gun registry efficient: RCMP report
Gun registry map: How the MPs voted across Canada
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