Public Safety Committee on May 8th, 2018

[Rob O'Reilly]

We don't anticipate a large scale. As I mentioned, the majority of these authorizations to transport that we're talking about are single purpose ATTs. They are for a single firearm to a single location at a single period of time. Examples might be transportation to a gun show, transportation to a border crossing, alternate storage, moving, or things of that nature. These are things that we have had experience managing in the past and we don't anticipate a spike in the number of individuals requesting those services.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

As I understand it, under federal laws in the U.S., vendors and companies have to keep files indefinitely, yet we have chosen a period of 20 years.

Can you explain why?

[Randall Koops]

Twenty years is identified as an international best practice among various countries that Canada does trade with.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Thank you, Mr. Dubé.

We have Ms. Dabrusin, for seven minutes, please.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Thank you.

I'm going to shift gears to some different sections we haven't been looking at today. I was curious to begin with the sections of Bill C-71 that concern the grandfathering of the CZ rifle and Swiss Arms. The reason I raise it is that I saw there was a date for the grandfathering of June 30, 2018.

Could you comment on why that date, being a future date, was chosen for the grandfathering?

[Randall Koops]

June 30 was chosen to provide a certain period of notice to owners and vendors of these firearms before the legal status of them would change. It provides time for people who may own the firearm to decide whether they wish to remain an owner of the firearm, whether they wish to comply with the requirements that would be in place to become a grandfathered owner. It also allows for vendors and importers to make their plans about what they may wish to do with inventories or imports of an item that is about to become a prohibitive firearm.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Part of the reason I'm asking is I'm wondering if you have any information as to how that impacts the market for these firearms in that interim period, whether it even potentially makes them more desirable during that interim period. If people were going to purchase one, there is a future date to purchase it.

Is there any type of impact like that by having a future date set as opposed to the date on which the legislation is tabled?

[Randall Koops]

I think in general it makes them less desirable from the perspective of one has significantly reduced opportunities to sell the firearm because one can only sell it to another grandfathered owner. The firearms are less attractive from that perspective in the sense of their market value.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

All right.

The second question I have is about the authorizations to transport. This is in subclause 4(3) of Bill C-71. The reason I am looking at it is it refers to handguns that are grandfathered specifically under subsection 12(6.1). I was wondering why there was a specific addition made in respect of those types of handguns for the automatic authorization to transport.

[Randall Koops]

The subsection 12(6.1) handguns are a group of firearms for which there is a class of grandfathered owners. They are permitted, with the appropriate authorization to transport, to take those firearms to the range for the purpose of target shooting. Most other prohibited firearms do not go to the range. In the case of the subsection 12(6.1) handguns, the provision is there to allow them to be used for target shooting purposes.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

At the moment, what's the situation for those handguns?

[Rob O'Reilly]

It's the same situation with those handguns now. The limitations that are in place around the usage of those firearms at a range would remain the same under Bill C-71.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

They are prohibited. Is that the classification for those handguns?

[Rob O'Reilly]

Yes.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

At the end of amended subsection 19(2.1), there is reference to firearms that have been purchased to form part of a gun collection. Is gun collection a defined term? I couldn't find it in the Firearms Act, but I'm not yet a full expert on the Firearms Act as a whole.

Is that a defined term?

[Rob O'Reilly]

I can explain the differences. Right now under the current system, when an individual is looking to acquire a firearm after they have acquired a firearms licence, they have to confirm the purpose for which they wish to acquire a handgun, as an example.

The two principal purposes that an individual would acquire a handgun would be for target shooting or as part of a collection. If they confirm their purpose as a target shooter, then they would be given the authorization to transport, to take that firearm to and from a shooting range. If they were to confirm their purpose as a collector, they would get the other authorizations to transport we've been talking about, but they would not get the authorization to transport to a range because they have not identified themselves as a target shooter but rather as a collector at that point.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

I see that as an addition, so I was just wondering why “gun collection” was added.

[Rob O'Reilly]

As it stands today, if you are a target shooter and you confirm purpose, you are given six authorizations to transport on your licence. If you are a collector, you are only given five. You are not given that additional one transport to a range.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Ms. Clarke.

[Paula Clarke]

I can just confirm that “gun collection” is a defined term within the Firearms Act. It's at section 30.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

It's at section 30, perfect. That helps, actually, for me to be able to look for it.

Thank you. Those are my questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Thank you, Ms. Dabrusin.

Mr. Motz, you have five minutes, please.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Mr. Koops or Ms. Clarke, I'm just curious to know if sections 101 to 105 of the Firearms Act are impacted at all by Bill C-71.

[Paula Clarke]

It is possible that section 101 of the Firearms Act could be engaged if a business does not comply with the requirements of a business licence. In a situation where the firearms business does not retain transaction records, either the business or the person could be subject to prosecution under section 101.