Bill C-21

An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms)

This enactment amends the Criminal Code to, among other things,
(a) increase, from 10 to 14 years, the maximum penalty of imprisonment for indictable weapons offences in sections 95, 96, 99, 100 and 103;
(b) establish a regime that would permit any person to apply for an emergency prohibition order or an emergency limitations on access order and allow the judge to protect the security of the person or of anyone known to them;
(c) deem certain firearms to be prohibited devices for the purpose of specified provisions;
(d) create new offences for possessing and making available certain types of computer data that pertain to firearms and prohibited devices and for altering a cartridge magazine to exceed its lawful capacity;
(e) include, for interception of private communications purposes, sections 92 and 95 in the definition of “offence” in section 183;
(f) authorize employees of certain federal entities who are responsible for security to be considered as public officers for the purpose of section 117.07; and
(g) include certain firearm parts to offences regarding firearms.
The enactment also amends the Firearms Act to, among other things,
(a) prevent individuals who are subject to a protection order or who have been convicted of certain offences relating to domestic violence from being eligible to hold a firearms licence;
(b) transfer authority to the Commissioner of Firearms to approve, refuse, renew and revoke authorizations to carry referred to in paragraph 20(a) of the Act;
(c) limit the transfer of handguns only to businesses and exempted individuals and the transfer of cartridge magazines and firearm parts;
(d) impose requirements in respect of the importation of ammunition, cartridge magazines and firearm parts;
(e) prevent certain individuals from being authorized to transport handguns from a port of entry;
(f) require a chief firearms officer to suspend a licence if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that the licence holder is no longer eligible for it;
(g) require the delivery of firearms to a peace officer, or their lawful disposal, if a refusal to issue, or revocation of, a licence has been referred to a provincial court under section 74 of the Act in respect of those firearms;
(h) revoke an individual’s licence if there is reasonable grounds to suspect that they engaged in an act of domestic violence or stalking or if they become subject to a protection order;
(i) authorize the issuance, in certain circumstances, of a conditional licence for the purposes of sustenance;
(j) authorize, in certain circumstances, the Commissioner of Firearms, the Registrar of Firearms or a chief firearms officer to disclose certain information to a law enforcement agency for the purpose of an investigation or prosecution related to the trafficking of firearms;
(k) provide that the annual report to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness regarding the administration of the Act must include information on disclosures made to law enforcement agencies and be submitted no later than May 31 of each year; and
(l) create an offence for a business to advertise a firearm in a manner that depicts, counsels or promotes violence against a person, with a few exceptions.
The enactment also amends the Nuclear Safety and Control Act to, among other things,
(a) provide nuclear security officers and on-site nuclear response force members with the authority to carry out the duties of peace officers at high-security nuclear sites; and
(b) permit licensees who operate high-security nuclear sites to acquire, possess, transfer and dispose of firearms, prohibited weapons and prohibited devices used in the course of maintaining security at high-security nuclear sites.
The enactment also amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to
(a) designate the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness as the Minister responsible for the establishment of policies respecting inadmissibility on grounds of transborder criminality for the commission of an offence on entering Canada;
(b) specify that the commission, on entering Canada, of certain offences under an Act of Parliament that are set out in the regulations is a ground of inadmissibility for a foreign national; and
(c) correct certain provisions in order to resolve a discrepancy and clarify the rule set out in those provisions.
Finally, the enactment also amends An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms so that certain sections of that Act come into force on the day on which this enactment receives royal assent.

[Peter Harder]

The Senate made one technical amendment, which was a coordinating amendment with regard to Bill C-21, to ensure that whichever bill was enacted first, there was a complementarity of action allowed. However, we made no other amendments, nor were any proposed, either in committee or on the floor of the chamber.

The view of the Senate was that this was urgent, necessary and not to be done quickly, which we did a year ago.

[Peter Harder, Senator, Ontario, PSG]

Thank you, Chair. I hope I don't use all of my five minutes, but I appreciate your signals.

This is an “S” bill, which means it originated in the Senate. It is a government bill, and it is not unusual for government bills to be tabled first in the Senate, although it's not a practice that takes place often. This bill was first introduced on May 17 of last year in the Senate and dealt with at second reading on May 19. It went to committee for consideration on June 3 and June 9.

We heard from approximately 19 witnesses, from both officials and other interested groups, and returned the bill with one technical amendment, which coordinated this bill with another bill that was before this chamber at that time, Bill C-21. The final reading took place on June 16, and Bill S-8 was unanimously accepted in our chamber, and hence sent here.

The bill before you is viewed from our chamber as an urgent piece of legislation, a necessary piece of legislation, which allows for sanction-related inadmissibility grounds to be treated in a cohesive and coherent manner. It will strengthen inadmissibility legislation that we already have in place, rendering designated persons who are subject to Government of Canada sanctions inadmissible.

In addition to that, it has further coordinating mechanisms that are important in the view of the government. I believe you had the officials from departments concerned here. I would urge this committee to deal with this bill expeditiously so that this gap in admissibility can be addressed. This is not only urgent with respect to Russian nationals, but it is universal, so it will deal with nationals of other sanctioned regimes, including, obviously, Iran.

I'm open for questions.

Again, the sponsor's role in the Senate is to shepherd the legislation through the Senate and in committee, and to work with colleagues and, ultimately, the government to ensure that the bill's carriage is both appropriately timed and succinctly and appropriately addressed by the Senate of Canada.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity. Usually we have the benefit of the House of Commons reflection before we get a bill. Now you have the opportunity for what we call “sober second thought”.

Firearms

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have four petitions here. First of all, the petitioners wish to convey their sorrow for the fellow officers, the friends and the families of those involved in the tragic event earlier this morning.

These petitioners want Bill C-21 stopped in its tracks. It would do nothing to stop the real problem of gun-running and leaves a gaping hole that would remain as long as it is in force. The petitioners therefore call to either end the bill now or revoke the law if it gets that far.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ron McKinnon]

What we are constrained by is the order things happen in Bill C-21. If we vote past the point where it should go into Bill C-21, then we would require unanimous consent to go back. Anyway, I would advise you to talk to the clerks to see what can be done going forward.

Mr. Julian, you have some time.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Chair, I'm just looking for where it needs to go in the bill. Can the officials provide what clause we should be sliding this into in the amendments? I don't think there's anything other than the preamble or the first sentence that needs to change in the language. It just needs to say it under the right part of Bill C-21, so it slides into the act in the right spot. Is that correct?

I'm just looking for that clarity from the officials.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for my 20 seconds.

Look, if we can bring this forward further down in the bill, I'm good with that. I would just ask the clerks to draft this solution to it. If it's in the wrong part of the bill, that's fine, but if we're already past that part of the bill, I'm in a bit of a pickle unless the committee agrees and we're going to get the support for it that we can change it.

If I understood the officials correctly, that's what they're saying. Where we're trying to slide the actual change into Bill C-21, it's in the wrong spot in the Firearms Act. I'm completely open to having it fall under the ATT portion if we can still move that as an amendment later on in the debate.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

I do thank Mr. Ruff for bringing this forward, because I know his intentions are indeed admirable. He is trying to find a way to ensure that people who don't want to have their firearms when they're having a mental health crisis have the ability to store them somewhere else.

I wonder if officials could clarify. I understand that an individual can obtain an ATT for temporary storage. It would still apply after Bill C-21 comes into effect. That would include if they were going on a cruise or if they were having a crisis.

Could you perhaps explain what is in place, confirm that it will be in place after the bill comes into effect and explain what the process would be? Maybe you could refer to where Mr. Ruff could find this in the regulations, please.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

For those who have just joined us, BQ‑8 is an amendment that is consistent with BQ‑3, which is intended to add the requirement to have a possession and acquisition licence to acquire a magazine in the same manner as ammunition. Three amendments have already been unanimously adopted by the committee. This amendment is really clear.

Therefore, I propose that Bill C‑21 be amended by adding after line 9 on page 18 the following new clause:

21.1 Section 25 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 25(1) and is amended by adding the following:

(2) A person may transfer a cartridge magazine that is not prescribed to be a prohibited device only if the individual holds a licence authorizing him or her to possess firearms.

This amendment is in the same spirit as the previous amendments. Its purpose is to request that a valid licence be required for the acquisition of a magazine. I hope that my colleagues will be consistent with previous positions and will be able to vote in favour of this amendment.

Thank you.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

BQ‑6 deals with the same subject matter as NDP‑2 and G‑1. I imagine my NDP colleague will be in favour of this amendment, which strengthens the “yellow flag” system.

We were fortunate to have representatives from the National Association of Women and the Law. This association also sent a brief, where a very good point is raised. Here's an excerpt:

The modification to section 5(2)(d) of the Firearms Act is also recommended to insert a safety bias into the granting of licences. A person may not currently pose a threat to their ex-partner (for example, if they are travelling abroad), or it may not be certain whether a person still poses a risk; when in doubt, the Chief Firearms Officer or the judge should err on the side of caution.

That's sort of the spirit of my amendment. We have to make sure we err on the side of caution, rather than the side of judgment.

Therefore, I propose that Bill C‑21 be amended by adding after line 19 on page 16 the following new clause:

15.1 Paragraph 5(2)(d) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(d) is or was previously prohibited by an order — made in the interests of the safety and security of any person — from communicating with an identified person or from being at a specified place or within a specified distance of that place, and poses or could pose a threat or risk to the safety and security of any person;

I invite my colleagues to vote in favour of this amendment, which strengthens the “yellow flag” system designed to protect women victims of violence.

Thank you.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

I completely agree with my friend, Mr. Lawrence.

I think the principle of Bill C-21, as we're developing it, is putting the focus on going after criminals, those who are using ghost guns and untraceable weapons, not legal gun owners who are showing respect for the law.

There is a surprising consensus, an almost Kumbaya moment developing around this table, which is a wonderful thing to see, Mr. Chair.

[Rachel Mainville-Dale]

It has to do with the automatic revocation of licences. The original proposal as it was in Bill C-21 was to define which protection orders, because not all of them.... Some of these, as my colleague was speaking of, are outside the Criminal Code and in provincial courts. It was to look at what protection orders were the ones that were related to domestic violence, intimate partner violence and gender-based violence in which an automatic revocation of a firearms licence would apply. That's therefore why it's necessary in the Firearms Act: to go along with the revocation provisions that are in the bill.

[Rachel Mainville-Dale]

This definition relates to other parts of amendments to the Firearms Act that are in Bill C-21 and that would expand licence revocation for certain situations. Where somebody becomes subject to a protection order, it would automatically revoke the licence rather than making it a condition of, for example, when you were talking about release and peace bonds and whatnot.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Chair.

First, I’d like to thank the entire technical team, including the clerks and the people who helped translate this subamendment. I am grateful to them.

I wanted to thank the entire team that is supporting us tonight. I wanted to do it at the beginning of the meeting, but unfortunately I haven’t spoken much since the beginning. We’ve already had the staff, interpreters, analysts, legislative clerks, and technicians with us for a little over four hours, and they’ll be here for nearly another four hours. As I said yesterday, it’s a pleasure for members to be here, but there’s a whole team behind this, so I want to take this opportunity to thank them.

I am pleased to see that the subamendment has been translated and distributed in both official languages. I also welcome Ms. Damoff’s subamendment. It’s important to respect Quebec and the provinces’ jurisdiction, and to respect their right to consult. That’s what this subamendment adds to the very reasonable amendment proposed by the NDP, which is to add a definition of the term “protection order” in Bill C‑21. The Bloc Québécois will therefore vote in favour of this subamendment.

Thank you.

[Pam Damoff, Liberal, Oakville North—Burlington, ON]

I'm happy to speak to it, Chair.

It's similar to the other amendments we had.

Colleagues will remember that Michael Rowe from the Vancouver Police Department appeared on our study of Bill C-21. He spoke about the need to take action on ghost guns and he provided us with recommendations. Those are the recommendations that we've added as amendments. Two of them were adopted unanimously. One was on printing and one was to add the two words “firearm parts”.

Once again, these are coordinating amendments that are adding “firearm parts” to ensure that the Criminal Code reflects those original amendments that are taking action on ghost guns.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Thank you.

It's in general and not related to Bill C-21.

How are the breaks working? We're here for nine hours. When do we have bathroom breaks and when are we having eating breaks?