Liberals push New Gun Regulations: Would create a LGR / Enable Criminals to get Guns

Biden and will try some of this same garbage, heads up eyes forward.



NFA Guide to C-71
https://nfa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NFA-Guide-to-C-71-06-25-2019.pdf


https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2021/2021-06-26/html/reg5-eng.html

Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 155, Number 26: Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Firearms Act
June 26, 2021
Statutory authority
Firearms Act
Sponsoring department
Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues
Currently, businesses and individuals who transfer (i.e., sell, barter, or give) non-restricted firearms are not required to verify that the buyer's or recipient's firearms licence is still valid (it is a voluntary step). As non-restricted firearms represent the vast majority of sales (estimated at 90% of all sales), this represents a risk that firearms are being transferred to individuals who are not eligible to possess them.

Moreover, there is no requirement for businesses to keep records on all transactions related to non-restricted firearms as a condition of their business licence, despite the fact that businesses must do so for transfers of restricted and prohibited firearms. These records can help law enforcement trace firearms if they become crime guns (firearms involved in illegal activity). As a result, it is very difficult to successfully trace a non-restricted firearm that becomes a crime gun, unless it can be found in one of the law enforcement databases, e.g. the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC).

An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms (formerly Bill C-71), which received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019, made a number of amendments to the Firearms Act, such as re-introducing requirements for due diligence in the verification of a transferee's licence prior to the transfer of non-restricted firearms and on maintaining records on the possession and disposal of non-restricted firearms by businesses as a condition of the firearms business licence. In order for these due diligence measures to come into force, regulatory amendments are needed to operationalize the changes.


Background
The Firearms Act provides that an individual must hold a firearms licence to acquire and possess a firearm, and that a business must hold a firearms business licence in order to carry on a business related to firearms or ammunition. Individuals must have a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) to own a non-restricted firearm, or a Restricted Possession and Acquisition Licence (RPAL) to own restricted or prohibited firearms. Businesses may have different authorizations added to their licences depending on their business lines (e.g., for sales, repair, shipping, display in a museum).

The purpose of the firearms licence is to ensure that individuals undergo a background check and take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (if applicable), on how to safely handle a firearm. Once a person holds a firearms licence, they must undergo Continuous Eligibility Screening which ensures that police-reported incidents of high-risk behaviour are brought to the attention of the Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) for the relevant province or territory for investigation and action. In order to transfer a non-restricted firearm, the Act currently requires that the transferee (“the buyer”) hold a PAL; and that the transferor (“the vendor”) have no reason to believe that the buyer is not authorized to acquire and possess the firearm.

With respect to record-keeping, the Act already requires that businesses maintain inventory and transaction records of restricted and prohibited firearms as a condition of their business licence. However, the Firearms Information Regulations (Non-restricted Firearms) prohibit anyone from requiring that businesses maintain such records on non-restricted firearms, as a condition of licence. This Regulation was first introduced in June 2012, following the end of the long gun registry.

These two issues are described in further detail in the next sections. An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to Firearms provides for mandatory verification of a buyer's firearms licence prior to transfer of a non-restricted firearm, and the requirement for businesses to keep records on inventory and transfers of non-restricted firearms. These Bill C-71 provisions are not yet in force.


Licence Verification
The Ending the Long-gun Registry Act (ELRA) in 2012, which repealed the registration of non-restricted firearms, eliminated a mandatory touch point with the Registrar upon transfer of a non-restricted firearm. The Registrar, who is appointed under the Public Service Employment Act to work for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)-Canadian Firearms Program (CFP), is responsible for issuing, refusing, and revoking registration certificates for restricted and prohibited firearms and for establishing and maintaining the national Canadian Firearms Registry, which includes these records as well as records on licences and authorizations issued by CFOs. The CFO is responsible for issuing firearms licences, authorizations to transport, and authorizations to carry, among other functions, within their jurisdiction. Every province and territory is covered by a CFO.

Prior to the ELRA, the Registrar verified that a firearms licence continued to be valid (e.g., that an individual was not attempting to use a fraudulent licence) before issuing a Registration Certificate for non-restricted firearms.

Since 2012, vendors may transfer non-restricted firearms to buyers without checking the validity of the licence with the Registrar. However, vendors may voluntarily submit a request to the Registrar to confirm that the buyer holds a valid licence.

The Registrar is prohibited from keeping any record of such a request. However, as this is voluntary and represents extra effort, Public Safety Canada officials consider it reasonable to conclude that voluntary requests are likely rare. While no data is available on the sales of non-restricted firearms today, in the year before the long-gun registry ended (2012), approximately 7.1 million of the total 7.9 million (90%) firearms registered in Canada were non-restricted. Based on these 2012 statistics, Public Safety Canada officials are of the view that for the overwhelming majority of firearms sales, the buyer's licence is not being verified with the Registrar.

Keeping Canadians safe from gun crime continues to be an important Government priority, and the Government is still committed to not reinstating the registration of non-restricted firearms. Individuals that may be using fraudulent or stolen firearms licences may represent a threat to public safety. When sections 23 and 23.1 of the former Bill C-71 are brought into force, licence verification prior to the transfer of a non-restricted firearm will be restored. The buyer will be required to provide the vendor with the information prescribed by regulation, and the vendor will inquire with the Registrar as to the buyer's licence validity.

If the Registrar is satisfied that the buyer holds and is still eligible to hold a firearms licence allowing the acquisition and possession of a non-restricted firearm, the Registrar will issue a reference number to the vendor. The reference number would be valid for the period of time prescribed by regulations. If the Registrar is not satisfied, they may inform the vendor. Former Bill C-71 would require that businesses retain records of the transfer (reference number, date, buyer's licence number and firearm's make, model and type, and its serial number) for 20 years.

To prescribe the matters mentioned above (information; validity period of reference number; official; duration of record retention), the Conditions of Transferring Firearms and Other Weapons Regulations would have to be amended. These Regulations currently specify the information that must be provided to the CFO upon transfer of a restricted or prohibited firearm to an individual or a business; and the information to be provided to the Registrar upon transfer to the federal government, a provincial government, a police force, or a municipality, and transfers by mail.

By creating a requirement for a vendor, whether an individual or a business, to verify the licence of a buyer with the Registrar, and for the Registrar to confirm that the licence is valid, individuals presenting stolen or fraudulent licences, or those for whom licence eligibility is in question (i.e., due to an ongoing investigation by a CFO) would no longer be able to acquire non-restricted firearms.


Continues.
https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2021/2021-06-26/html/reg5-eng.html