That's okay. We disagree.
Thank you.
To make this bill more in line with the actual goal, which is to keep firearms away from those who should not have them, I would submit that background checks should only be carried out at first-time applications, where the individual has not been subjected to continuous screening. Once someone has held a licence, whether that be for five years or 20 or 30 years, they are already basically under background checks and have been for the life of their firearms licence anyway.
This would provide the objective of ensuring that people get the background check they need before getting a firearms licence, and reasonable background checks follow afterwards, which is what we intend to have happen in the first place.
That is the reason for that amendment. It will provide the opportunity to do exactly what we want to have happen in legislation. That is, those who should not have a firearms licence do not get a firearms licence, and those who already have a firearms licence and are not flagged, and do not pose a threat to public safety, they are the majority of Canadians, who are the law-abiding kind of owners. If we're going to do a background check as extensive as is being proposed, it is for those coming forward, or those who have had a lapse in their licence, not for those who currently have a licence.