Amnesty Extended for Prohibited Firearms to 2025

Summary#

The Order Amending the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020) extends the temporary amnesty that protects some gun owners from criminal charges while they comply with the new rules. The amnesty now runs from May 1, 2020 and ends on October 30, 2025 (the order was registered on October 20, 2023).

What it does#

• Extends the expiry date of the existing Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020) so the amnesty now ends on October 30, 2025 instead of October 30, 2023.
• Keeps the original conditions and scope of protection the same. It does not add new offences or new requirements.
• Maintains protection for people and businesses who were in lawful possession of firearms or certain firearm parts that were made prohibited on May 1, 2020 while they arrange a lawful disposal or other compliance option.
• Lists common disposal options available during the amnesty: having the firearm deactivated by an approved business, surrendering it to police, legally exporting it, or (for businesses) returning it to the manufacturer.
• Notes that affected owners must continue to hold a valid licence during the amnesty.

Who's affected#

• Individuals and businesses who legally owned one or more firearms or parts that became prohibited on May 1, 2020 — mainly so-called assault-style firearms and certain upper receivers.
• Owners of an estimated 150,000 affected firearms nationwide, including about 110,292 that were formerly classified as restricted and about 39,708 that were formerly non-restricted. The exact total is uncertain because non-restricted firearms are not registered.
• Hunters and sustenance hunters who relied on certain non-restricted firearms for traditional or subsistence activities, including some Indigenous people exercising rights recognized under section 35 (the order specifically notes these uses continue to be permitted for transport while complying with the amnesty).
• Businesses that handle deactivation, export, repair, or manufacturing of the affected items.
• Law enforcement and the federal departments involved in firearms policy, including Department of Justice Canada and Public Safety Canada, which will manage and communicate the extension.

Why it matters#

• The extension gives people and businesses more time to legally dispose of or otherwise come into compliance with the firearms rules without facing criminal charges until October 30, 2025.
• Without the extension, owners still in possession of prohibited items after the previous expiry would have been at risk of criminal prosecution starting October 30, 2023.
• The government says relatively few prohibited items have been turned in so far (about 1,200 registered restricted firearms destroyed), so the extension aims to reduce the chance of many people unintentionally becoming criminally liable.
• The total number of affected non-registered firearms is unknown, so how effective the extension will be depends on voluntary compliance and on owners being able to access disposal options.