CFP Won't Process Handgun Transfers, Despite Snafu Over New Federal Regulations

The federal government may have made regulatory mistakes with its handgun sales ban, but at this point, it doesn't seem to matter. As of this week, the Canadian Firearms Program is no longer allowing the sale of handguns within Canada.

After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet announced an end to handgun transfers last week, it didn't take long for knowledgeable firearms industry insiders to point out problems with the plan. Aside from the issues we've seen with most federal gun control announcements lately, there were also questions about the procedure behind the handgun ban.

You can read our previous write-up about those problems in an in-depth look here, but it boils down to this: Even an Order in Council, which bypasses regular parliamentary process, should abide by certain procedural rules. The handgun transfer ban did not do so. In theory, this ban should not have become law until its publication in the Canada Gazette, which sees its next publication on November 9, 2022. Instead, in this case, the office of Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino said the regulations had been signed by the Governor General on October 20, and would take effect the next day.

As our previous write-up put it: "This puts Canadians into the uncomfortable position of accepting the coming-into-force of regulations that were never publicly introduced, sidestepped public consultation in doing so, and pass into law without ever being seen outside of the Ministry that authored them. Even if legal, it certainly breaks procedural process, even as it's laid out on the Justice Ministry's own site."

However, individuals looking for a loophole to continuing transferring handguns until the next issue of the Canada Gazette will be disappointed, as the Canadian Firearms Program will not initiate any new transfers, despite the federal snafu. As of Tuesday, October 25, a call to the CFP's offices results in a message that handgun transfers can only be carried out by individuals who received an exemption. That narrows the list down to security guards, Olympic athletes and other individuals narrowly defined in the federal paperwork.

What next?

Canadian shooters are still sorting out the terms of the transfer ban, and the unexpected side effects of that announcement (as seen in Ian Runkle's video below). Along with the obvious impact on existing handgun owners, the new ban also essentially prevents any Canadians who do not currently own a handgun from acquiring one legally. This will most likely have a stifling effect on the long-term viability of Olympic competition and other shooting sports in Canada, even though those classes are currently exempt under the regulations.