Chair, while I appreciate Ms. May's intervention, I'm not quite as confident as she is, although I think she does make a good point. However, I'm really concerned about who may get caught up in this, keeping in mind that subsection 5(2) is all about licensing. Anybody who is applying for a licence or is reapplying for their licence would be the people who would be caught up in this.
I have some questions, some hypotheticals. I don't know if this is particularly fair, but I want to be clear on who's going to get caught in this “has a history of behaviour that includes violence or threatened or attempted violence and threatening conduct”, which is the new benchmark that's being added here. All this language is very, very subjective. There is evidence, some bars, or some measures that are tested in law and there are others that are not, so this is a subjective call on behalf of the chief firearms officer, for the most part.
I'm wondering if, for example, a bouncer would get caught up in this. There is a charge against him, or an allegation against a bouncer who likes to go hunting part time, who obviously uses certain tools in his or her duties to remove somebody from property. What about anybody who says anything, perhaps on social media, that might be construed one way even though it was meant in another way? Police officers and soldiers, all the time, in the exercise of their duties, could get caught up in this. I'm imaging they're excluded as part of their duties from being caught up in this, but police officers and soldiers get charged for certain things while they're in theatre or while they're employed.
I'd also like some clarification on those who use firearms in the unenviable situation where they're defending themselves or their property and find themselves in a situation where they need to reapply or apply for a firearms licence, about how this proposal would affect them.