Firearms Amnesty Extended to October 2023

Summary#

The Order Amending the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020) extends the temporary amnesty that protects people who hold certain now‑prohibited firearms or devices. It pushes the end date from the original period to October 30, 2023 and makes a few targeted fixes so some users, buyers, businesses and the Bank of Canada can legally take specific actions while they come into compliance.

What it does#

• Extends the amnesty period that started on May 1, 2020 so it now ends on October 30, 2023.
• Allows Bank of Canada security personnel to use parts of the bank’s existing firearms inventory during the amnesty.
• Lets people who use a formerly non‑restricted firearm for sustenance hunting or to exercise a right under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 transport that firearm for safety work (for example, repairs or sighting) so it can be used safely for those purposes.
• Protects people who bought, or had an agreement to buy, a formerly restricted firearm on or before April 30, 2020 but whose registration certificate was not processed by that date — if they otherwise meet the amnesty rules.
• Permits owners to store newly prohibited firearms at another person’s or business’s location (when that storage is a condition of the owner’s licence), and protects the person/business providing that storage. Owners must notify the chief firearms officer in their province when transporting a firearm for this alternative storage.
• Clarifies that businesses or individuals who take temporary possession of prohibited firearms to deactivate them are protected by the amnesty while doing that work.

Who's affected#

• Owners of the firearms and devices reclassified as prohibited on May 1, 2020 — about 1,500 makes and models are listed in the original regulation.
• People who purchased or had purchase agreements for formerly restricted firearms on or before April 30, 2020 (roughly 1,851 such purchases were identified).
• Bank of Canada security staff and their employer.
• Hunters who rely on a formerly non‑restricted firearm for sustenance or for rights protected under section 35 (Indigenous rights).
• Gunsmiths, deactivation businesses and other small businesses that store or repair firearms on behalf of owners.
• Officials involved in firearms licensing and enforcement, including the Canadian Firearms Program and chief firearms officers.
  If anything is unclear about who can do what, the amended order itself sets the precise conditions.

Why it matters#

• The change gives affected owners more time — until October 30, 2023 — to legally dispose of, deactivate, export, or otherwise deal with weapons that became prohibited on May 1, 2020 without risking criminal charges.
• It fixes practical problems raised after the ban: for example, letting the Bank of Canada continue to use certain firearms for security, letting hunters get repairs so firearms can be used safely for sustenance or rights‑based hunting, and protecting businesses that must take possession to deactivate firearms.
• Without the extension and these clarifications, some people who had acted in good faith (buyers whose registration requests were still being processed, or businesses helping owners) might have faced criminal liability.
• The order emphasizes voluntary compliance; once the amnesty ends, anyone still in possession of a prohibited firearm could be subject to criminal charges.