Licence Checks for Non-Restricted Firearm Transfers

Summary#

These are proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Firearms Act published in the Canada Gazette, Part I on June 26, 2021. They would make sellers check a buyer’s firearms licence before transferring a non‑restricted firearm and require firearms businesses to keep detailed records of non‑restricted firearms for 20 years.

What it does#

• Requires licence checks before any transfer of a non‑restricted firearm.

  • The buyer must give the information shown on the front of their licence.
  • The seller contacts the Registrar (via the RCMP and its Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) online portal or phone) to confirm the licence and receives a reference number if the licence is valid.
  • The reference number would be valid for 90 days.

• Makes record‑keeping mandatory for licensed firearms businesses.

  • Businesses would have to record details such as manufacturer, make and model, all serial numbers, dates and types of activity (sale, repair, import, etc.), and shipper information when relevant.
  • Records must be kept for 20 years and sent to the Registrar when a business closes.
  • The existing Firearms Information Regulations (Non-restricted Firearms) would be repealed because they currently forbid such record‑keeping.

• Other, smaller changes

  • Removes obsolete rules about the old Possession‑Only Licence from the Firearms Licences Regulations.
  • Updates parts of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Adaptations Regulations (Firearms) to reflect those repeals.

• Status and timing

  • This is a proposal (Canada Gazette, Part I) and was put out for public comment for 30 days after publication. The government aimed to bring the related law and these regulations into force in Fall 2021, with a transitional deadline of October 1, 2022 for certain records.

Who's affected#

• Individuals who buy or sell non‑restricted firearms (private sellers and buyers). They would need to provide licence details and may have a transfer denied if the licence is not confirmed.

• Licensed firearms businesses.

  • About 2,578 businesses would be subject to the new record rules: roughly 1,468 retail gun shops, 170 museums, and 940 other businesses (importers, gunsmiths, etc.).
  • An estimated 1,435 of these are likely small businesses.

• The federal firearms system and police.

  • The RCMP/CFP and the Registrar would handle licence confirmations and hold records.
  • The Canadian National Firearms Tracing Centre (CNFTC) would be a main user of the new business records for tracing crime guns.

• Costs and scale

  • The government’s analysis estimated an annualized cost of about $3.1M overall, with businesses bearing about $2.5M of that.
  • The proposal estimated up to 725,755 licence verifications a year in a full‑uptake scenario.

Why it matters#

• Aims to stop ineligible people from getting non‑restricted firearms by making licence checks routine instead of optional. That could prevent some violent incidents, including intimate‑partner violence in cases where licences have been revoked or are fraudulent.

• Makes it easier for police to trace firearms that end up in crimes.

  • Tracing success for non‑restricted firearms has been low (about 18% recently) compared with restricted/prohibited firearms (about 51%). The government expects record‑keeping to lift trace success and help investigations, prosecutions, and efforts to recover stolen guns.

• Creates new costs and paperwork for sellers and shops.

  • Businesses will need to change processes, train staff, and keep long records. The government’s analysis quantifies these costs but also says they are intended to improve public safety and tracing.

• Raises privacy and data‑holding questions.

  • Records would include information about buyers and sellers and would be held by the Registrar; the Registrar may destroy records after 20 years. The proposal notes existing privacy legislation applies.

Note: this item was a proposed regulation published for comment. It described expected effects and costs but was not law at the time of publication.