Public Safety committee  Unfortunately, I have nothing to support that notion.

Public Safety committee  Quite possibly, but I can't say that I've done the full evaluation in terms of the resource implications from a human resourcing perspective relating to these new elements.

Public Safety committee  I can say that the intention of the program is to maintain the service standards we have in place and that any amendments proposed under Bill C-71 not lengthen the period of time by which an individual is going to be applying for a licence. I can't speak to the exact resourcing because, again, when we had preliminary discussions on the bill, these particular elements weren't necessarily in play, but the intention of the program is to maintain those service standards.

Public Safety committee  On Tuesday, I heard mention of Ms. Irons and her situation. Unfortunately, I don't know the circumstances regarding that case. To your more broad question, I definitely cannot answer that in terms of whether it will prevent. All I can say is that the language that is being proposed more inclusively brings to the attention things that others feel should be taken into consideration in terms of making an eligibility determination.

Public Safety committee  Unfortunately, sir, I don't have any information that would answer that question.

Public Safety committee  Sir, I would maybe provide this. If I can speak on behalf of the chief firearms officers, when we're talking about subsection 5(2), the very last part of subsection 5(2) before we get into the paragraphs says the CFOs “shall have regard for”. What we're talking about here are certain things that the CFO, in essence, must consider when making a determination of eligibility.

Public Safety committee  Not really, no. Everything Ms. Clarke had indicated I would fully concur with. I guess the only thing I would add is that the elements being proposed today would allow the CFOs to more broadly consider all things that may be an issue to public safety. While some may interpret that it is too broad, my job sitting here, and my job being responsible for the CFOs, is to provide them with the greatest amount of tools to make an informed decision.

Public Safety committee  Well, I can speak to some elements of your question. In the case of a refusal or a revocation, the decision is communicated back to the client in the form a revocation or refusal notice. The refusal notice or the revocation notice expressly lists the part of the Firearms Act and/or the Criminal Code that the CFO believes the individual is in violation of.

Public Safety committee  I can't speak for every refusal that has been issued, but in terms of the many that I have reviewed and/or seen, the CFO tends to outline a bit of a narrative as to what behaviour or things they have seen that led them to make a determination to refuse or revoke an individual. It generally is rather prescriptive in terms of the outline.

Public Safety committee  With the exception of a refusal or a revocation because of a court order, the individuals do have legal recourse through a reference hearing at that point, in which case the CFO would have to demonstrate that the decision which he or she took was reasonable. The individual would have the opportunity to provide a counter argument at that point.

Public Safety committee  Just to be clear, what question would you like me to answer?

Public Safety committee  Sort of. If an individual's licence expires, that would not preclude them from making reapplication on the firearms licence, nor would their firearms licence necessarily be denied. The CFO, while the licence was valid, would have the opportunity to make a determination right then and there, or not.

Public Safety committee  It's hard to speculate. I know there are some circumstances that—

Public Safety committee  I guess all I would say is that the CFO would consider all of the information in front of them and try to make the most informed decision possible.

Public Safety committee  Certainly. If I understand your question correctly, you're asking if paragraph (c) were to be added to subsection 5(2), would individuals who are facing charges potentially now come to the attention of the CFO, and their eligibility to hold a licence come into question or be reviewed.