The New Gun Bill - Everything You Need To Know

Daniel Fritter in Featured, Politics on May 30, 2022

We have learned what the new gun control bill contains, in its entirety. Announced late this evening, Prime Minister Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino introduced the new Bill C-21 in front of a cavalcade of parliamentary staffers and anti-gun advocates, and briefly outlined the contents of the long-promised "pro-active" legislation.

For the most succinct and clear outline of the bill's components, and their immediacy, consult the provided chart:

The Handgun Freeze

The largest component making headlines is obviously the vaunted "freeze on handguns," as Prime Minister Trudeau put it. This is being accomplished by simply prohibiting the transfer of any restricted firearm to an individual:

It goes on furthermore to prohibited the issue of Authorization to Transfer any restricted firearms from any port of entry; effectively prohibiting the legal import of handguns to Canada:

Interestingly, the bill exempts some individuals from these components; specifically, those that have been issued an Authorization To Carry (such as armed car guards, trappers, etc) and "elite sport shooters." In a technical briefing with senior government staff, this term was defined to include those high-level competitors involved in Olympic shooting disciplines. Obviously, neither of these measures will impact criminals as they are specific measures aimed at impacting the use of firearms by those with licenses, as only those with licenses could ever qualify to have a restricted firearm transfer approved, or be allowed to import a firearm from a port of entry, legally.

It is important to note that as both of these components are included in the wording of the bill, they will require full reading through both the House and Senate, all the associated Committees, and receive Royal Assent before Coming into Force. However, in the Technical Briefing that followed, senior government officials cited as-yet-unreleased but apparently tabled Regulations that will look to install this prohibition on individual handgun transfers upon the receipt of Royal Assent for those Regulations. The government was pressed on this, but all there were willing to say was that the Regulations have been tabled, and when they receive Royal Assent all transfers will be prohibited. They were unable to say when the Regulations would receive Royal Assent, and only stated that the Regulations and the Bill would both go through the democratic process and receive Royal Assent upon completion of those processes. We at Calibre are trying to obtain a copy of these Regulations. In a recent update (4:50 pm PST), the government's comprehensive summary includes the stipulation that these regulations limiting handgun sales are expected in the Fall of 2022.

Resurrected Bill C-21

The remainder of the bill can largely be typified as the resurrection of the stillborn Bill C-21 that was terminated with the 2021 election writ was dropped, with two large alterations. First and foremost, it removes Bill C-21's component that would have allowed for provincial handgun bans; somewhat obviously.

The other component it removes from Bill C-21 is the former C-21's allowance of "non-permissive storage," which effectively makes the so-called "assault-style" rifle buyback mandatory; you'll no longer be allowed to keep those. However, again, to remind everyone there is roughly 2 years remaining in the amnesty permitted on those firearms. That means unless the amnesty is cancelled, you will not be charged for possession of those rifles as yet.

Additions to the former Bill C-21, beyond the aforementioned handgun freeze, include new "red flag" laws that effectively nullify all gun owners right to be protected from unjustified search and seizure; it allows any individual to file a report that can be actioned by law enforcement with or without a warrant. That action can include having any gun owners' property searched, and any property seized, without a warrant.

Additionally, anyone who has a restraining order filed against them or been involved with domestic violent (it is unclear how that will be determined or qualified) will not be able to obtain a firearms license. Anyone with a license who ends up having a restraining order or getting involved with domestic violence or stalking will have their license revoked.

Finally, the bill removes the ability of the Government to "downgrade" the classification of a firearm (meaning anything restricted or prohibited will not be able to be moved down to non-restricted, or restricted classifications, respectively, by future Ministers of Safety), and creates a mechanism by which all existing registration certificates for a firearm will automatically expire upon the re-classification of that firearm. In other words, if you hold a restricted certificate for a firearm, and that firearm is deemed prohibited, the restricted certificate will be expired immediately to prevent legal complications and avoid giving gun owners access to due process.

The Future?

There are of course additional amendments that will impact fewer individuals, such as changes about who will be in charge of Authorizations to Carry, and making requirements that various staff must also prepare annual reports on the registration of gun transfers, and other such issues. However, in terms of broad, reaching legislation, the last component the new Bill C-21 includes is a reference to future regulations coming in the future to limit all long gun magazines so that they can never hold more than five rounds, and prohibiting the sale and transfer of all magazines capable of holding more than the legal number of bullets. When asked to clarify if that would be restricted to semi-automatic firearms, with the example given that the Lee Enfield holds 10-rounds, senior government officials stipulated that the government is currently looking to limit all long gun magazines regardless of action or calibre.