441-02152 (Justice)

Too many Canadians have been affected by senseless acts of gun violence. Canadians deserve to be safe in their communities.

To address this our Government is implementing a comprehensive approach to strengthen firearms control and tackle firearm-related violence across Canada, including comprehensive legislative reforms through Bill C-21, and over $1.3 billion in investments to strengthen community-based prevention and law enforcement capacity. This approach prioritizes public safety, reduces access to dangerous firearms, strengthens our border, and supports effective police work and community programming.

As part of this approach, on May 1, 2020, the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restrictedwere amended to reclassify, and prohibit, approximately 1,500 models of firearms and their variants. The prohibition limits access to the most dangerous firearms.

An Amnesty Order has been put in place to protect impacted owners from criminal liability, and to provide them with time to come into compliance with the law. Those who remain in possession of these firearms at the end of the amnesty period could be subject to criminal liability for unlawful possession.

To support compliance with the law, the Government is committed to implementing a Firearms Buyback Program to ensure that the prohibited firearms are safely removed from our communities. The Government is designing a program that is user-friendly, safe, and efficient while also recognizing the interests of hunters, including Indigenous hunters. Canadians and businesses can expect fair compensation for participation in the Firearms Buyback Program, for use as they see fit, including buying other firearms. Impacted owners, especially Indigenous groups, will continue to be engaged to understand and appreciate their unique interests and ensure they are considered in the design and implementation of the Program.

While the prohibition and the Firearms Buyback Program are key elements in the Government’s comprehensive approach, it is only one of a series of measures that the Government is taking to target firearms safety and reduce firearms violence and crime in this country.

We are providing significant funding to help communities divert youth away from gang culture through the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS), to date, the NCPS has invested approximately $565 million in support of 684 crime prevention interventions. Through the NCPS, Public Safety Canada (PS) invests over $40 million annually in funding to community organizations to deliver culturally specific interventions that address the root causes of violence among youth and young people.

Additionally, through the Youth Gang Prevention Fund (YGPF) we have invested $122.7 million and have supported 47 gang prevention and diversion projects.

Further, on March 16, 2022, the Government announced $250 million through the Building Safer Communities Fund (BSCF) which provides direct funding to municipalities and Indigenous communities to strengthen local efforts to counter the social conditions that lead to criminal behaviour. This funding builds on the $358.8 million over five years, allocated by the Government in 2018 under the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence.

In addition to providing funding to address the root causes of crime, the Government knows that the cross-border smuggling of firearms also poses a threat to the safety and security of Canadians.

Through Budget 2021, our government invested $656.1 million over five years for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to modernize our borders, including enhancing our ability to detect contraband and helping protect the integrity of our border infrastructure.

In order to enhance our capabilities to trace crime guns we have made an investment of $15 million. This funding will support the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the development of a new national tracing database; increased outreach to law enforcement agencies on the strategic benefits of tracing to criminal investigation; and the establishment of a national network to detect straw purchasing and promote information sharing between law enforcement partners to counter firearms trafficking and smuggling.

The RCMP has also introduced a new mandatory tracing policy that requires all RCMP seized guns to be submitted for tracing, and in March 2023 the CBSA and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that allows them to share information directly on files/intelligence development and actions/events occurring or expected to occur at the border, in support of efforts to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal efforts to smuggle firearms and their parts.

It’s important to note that the cross-border smuggling of firearms is not the only source of firearms that is used for criminal activity. In 2020, 73% of firearms traced by the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program recovered in crime scenes or seized by police were deemed to be imported legally or manufactured within Canada. Despite legal acquisition, these firearms have ended up being used in criminal activities.

Concurrently, through Bill C-21 our Government is introducing tougher penalties for trafficking and smuggling offences.

On May 1, 2023, the Government announced revised amendments to Bill C-21, along with strengthened measures to prevent gun violence. The revised amendments included a new prospective technical definition that contains characteristics of an assault-style firearm, which makes it illegal to import or manufacture such firearms in Canada, except by licensed manufacturers within the existing requirements of the Firearms Act and the Export and Import Permits Act for the military and law enforcement sector. The definition does not prohibit all semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that can be used for hunting and recreational purposes. The definition targets firearms that are not suitable for civilian use as they have the capability of sustained rapid fire. This is in line with the recent report of Mass Casualty Commission recommending greater controls on firearms, parts and cartridge magazines, as well as clarity of firearms classification in Canada. As this is a forward-looking definition, it does not apply to firearms currently on the market or the Firearms Buyback Program. On December 15, 2023 Bill C-21 received Royal Assent and is now law.

The Government recognizes the traditional and cultural importance of hunting for Indigenous communities and is committed to ensuring that its actions to strengthen firearms control and address firearm-related violence nevertheless uphold traditional hunting rights upheld in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

PS has initiated a dialogue with a number of Indigenous organizations and rural and Northern communities across Canada to listen to their concerns and learn more about the important traditional and cultural considerations of harvesting and hunting, and will continue to engage and cooperate to identify a path forward.

Finally, on May 16, 2023, the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-48 that proposes changes to the Criminal Code’s bail provisions to promote community safety and reinforce public confidence in the administration of justice. Bill C-48 would make targeted changes to the Criminal Code’s bail regime to address serious repeat violent offences with firearms, knives, bear spray and other weapons. Bill C-48 also proposes changes at the bail stage to address the enhanced risks posed by intimate partner violence. The proposed changes seek to improve the safety of people and communities across Canada.

With these initiatives, the Government is taking concrete steps to make our country less vulnerable to firearms violence while being fair to responsible firearms owners and businesses.