Firearms Act (S.C. 1995, c. 39)

AMENDMENTS NOT IN FORCE

• — 2015, c. 27, s. 10

  • 10 The Act is amended by adding the following in numerical order:

    • Obligation to provide information

      • 42.2 (1) A business may import a prohibited firearm or a restricted firearm only if the business completes the prescribed form containing the prescribed information and provides it by electronic or other means to the Registrar before the importation and to a customs officer before or at the time of the importation.

      • Information sharing

        (2) The Registrar and a customs officer may provide each other with any form or information that they receive under subsection (1).

• — 2015, c. 27, s. 15

  • 15 Subsection 83(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (d):

    • (d.1) all information provided to the Registrar under section 42.2;

• — 2023, c. 32, s. 15

  • 15 Subsection 2(1) of the Firearms Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

    protection order

    protection order protection order has the meaning assigned by the regulations but is intended to include any binding order made by a court or other competent authority in the interest of the safety or security of a person; this includes but is not limited to orders that prohibit a person from:

    • (a) being in physical proximity to an identified person or following an identified person from place to place;

    • (b) communicating with an identified person, either directly or indirectly;

    • (c) being at a specified place or within a specified distance of that place;

    • (d) engaging in harassing or threatening conduct directed at an identified person;

    • (e) occupying a family home or a residence; or

    • (f) engaging in family violence. (ordonnance de protection)

• — 2023, c. 32, s. 16

  • 16 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 6:

    • Protection orders

      6.1 Subject to section 70.3 and the regulations, an individual is not eligible to hold a licence if they are subject to a protection order or have been convicted of an offence in the commission of which violence was used, threatened or attempted against their intimate partner or any member of their family.

• — 2023, c. 32, s. 34

  • 34 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 69:

    • Suspension

      • 69.1 (1) If a chief firearms officer has reasonable grounds to suspect, on the basis of information that they have collected or received from any person, including a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a nurse, a nurse practitioner or a medical practitioner, that the holder of a licence is no longer eligible to hold the licence, they shall suspend, in respect of that licence, the holder’s authorization to use, acquire and import firearms for a period of up to 30 days.

      • Notice

        (2) A chief firearms officer shall give notice in writing of the suspension to the holder of the licence. The notice shall include reasons for the decision, the nature of the information relied on for the decision, the period of the suspension and a copy of this section and sections 69.2 and 70.

      • Non-disclosure of information

        (3) A chief firearms officer need not disclose any information the disclosure of which could, in their opinion, endanger the safety of any person.

      • Termination of suspension

        (4) A chief firearms officer shall terminate the suspension at any time before the expiry of the period referred to in subsection (2) if they are satisfied that the grounds for the suspension no longer exist. The chief firearms officer shall give notice in writing of the termination of the suspension to the holder of the licence.

    • Prohibition on use, acquisition and importation

      69.2 The holder of a licence shall not use, acquire or import firearms while their authorizations to do so are suspended under subsection 69.1(1).

• — 2023, c. 32, s. 35(2)

  • • 35 (2) Subsection 70(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (a) and by adding the following after paragraph (a):

      • (a.1) where the holder of the licence uses, acquires or imports a firearm while their authorizations to do so are suspended under subsection 69.1(1); or

• — 2023, c. 32, s. 36

  • 36 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 70:

    • Revocation — domestic violence

      • 70.1 (1) If a chief firearms officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that an individual who holds a licence may have engaged in an act of domestic violence or stalking, the chief firearms officer must revoke the licence within 24 hours.

      • Definition of domestic violence

        (2) For the purpose of subsection (1), domestic violence means conduct, whether or not it constitutes a criminal offence, by a family member towards another family member, including conduct by or towards an intimate partner, that is violent or threatening or that is part of a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour or that causes that other family member or intimate partner to fear for their safety or the safety of another person, and includes

        • (a) physical abuse, including forced confinement, but excluding the use of reasonable force to protect themselves or another person;

        • (b) sexual abuse;

        • (c) psychological abuse;

        • (d) financial abuse;

        • (e) threats to kill or cause bodily harm to any person;

        • (f) threats to kill or harm an animal or damage property;

        • (g) harassment, including stalking;

        • (h) the failure to provide the necessities of life; and

        • (i) the killing or harming of an animal or the damaging of property.

    • Revocation — protection order

      • 70.2 (1) If an individual becomes subject to a protection order, their licence is automatically revoked and they must deliver to a peace officer any firearm that they possess within 24 hours or, if that is not possible, within any extended period established by the chief firearms officer. Sections 91, 92 and 94 of the Criminal Code do not apply to the individual in relation to such a firearm during that period.

      • Notice

        (2) A chief firearms officer must give notice, in the prescribed manner, of a revocation referred to in subsection (1) to the individual and must specify in the notice the period referred to in that subsection.

    • Conditional licence

      70.3 Subject to section 5, a chief firearms officer may, in the prescribed circumstances, issue a licence that is subject to the conditions that the chief firearms officer considers appropriate to an individual referred to in section 6.1, 70.1 or 70.2 if the individual establishes to the satisfaction of the chief firearms officer that they need a firearm to hunt or trap in order to sustain themselves or their family.

• — 2023, c. 32, s. 38

  • • 38 (1) Subsection 87(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):

      • (a.1) every licence that is the subject of a suspension under section 69.1;

    • (2) Paragraph 87(1)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:

      • (c) every prohibition order and protection order, and any variation or revocation of such orders, of which the chief firearms officer is informed under section 89; and

• — 2023, c. 32, s. 40

  • 40 The heading before section 89 is replaced by the following:

    Reporting of Prohibition Orders and Protection Orders

• — 2023, c. 32, s. 41

  • 41 Section 89 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 89(1) and is amended by adding the following:

    • Protection order

      (2) Any competent authority that makes, varies or revokes a protection order shall have a chief firearms officer informed of the protection order or its variation or revocation within 24 hours.