Automatic Firearms List adds four countries

Summary#

The Order Amending the Automatic Firearms Country Control List: SOR/2020-225 adds new destination countries to the list that can receive certain automatic or otherwise prohibited firearms from Canada if a permit is granted. The change took effect on October 14, 2020 and also updates a few country names on the list for alphabetical order.

What it does#

• Adds Austria, Ireland, Japan, and Switzerland to the Automatic Firearms Country Control List (AFCCL).
• Changes a few country entries to their short forms: Czech Republic becomes Czechia; Republic of Colombia becomes Colombia; Republic of Korea becomes Korea, Republic of.
• Confirms that exports to AFCCL countries still need an export permit under the Export and Import Permits Act, and each application is checked case-by-case against human-rights and security risk criteria (for example, the Arms Trade Treaty considerations).
• Notes the change helps owners and exporters deal with firearms that were reclassified as prohibited on May 1, 2020 (about 1,500 models and variants).

Who's affected#

• Canadian firearms and defence exporters. Many are small businesses (about 485 companies in the sector).
• Canadian owners of firearms reclassified as prohibited who may want to return or export those guns to the manufacturer country.
• Government bodies that handle permits and enforcement, notably Global Affairs Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• Anyone else is affected only indirectly, since each export still requires an individual permit and risk assessment.

Why it matters#

• It gives Canadian exporters more markets and may reduce a competitive disadvantage versus foreign manufacturers. The government says the economic benefits could be in the range of billions of dollars.
• It gives owners of newly prohibited firearms another practical option to dispose of them — for example, returning them to manufacturers in the newly listed countries.
• It does not remove safety or human-rights safeguards: permits can still be denied if an export poses a substantial risk of contributing to human-rights abuses, terrorism, or other serious harms.
• The change is largely administrative (adding destinations and standardizing names) but has real-world effects for exporters and affected firearm owners.