38th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION

(October 4, 2004 - )

Edited Hansard • Number 147

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Questions on the Order Paper

Hon. Dominic LeBlanc (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Madam Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 177, 178, 180, 182 and 199.

[Text]

[Hansard Page 9446]

Question No. 199--

Mr. Inky Mark:
With respect to the firearms registry: (a) how many Possession-Only Licences (POL’s) have expired within the last 3 years; and (b) what follow up has been undertaken by the government for those who have not renewed their POL’s?

Hon. Roy Cullen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the reply is as follows:

a) The following is a breakdown of possession only licences, POLs, that have expired within the last three years for which there has been no renewal. The numbers shown are directly related to the increase in the number of POLs issued five years ago, which are now due for renewal.

September 2002 – August 2003	0
September 2003 – August 2004	856
September 2004 – August 2005	16 460
Total	17 316

 

 

 

b) The government undertakes a number of activities to help firearms owners stay in compliance with the Firearms Act. Specifically:

--Ninety days prior to the expiration date of a POL, the Canada Firearms Centre mails the client a firearm licence application form which is pre-populated with client information and a notice reminding them that their licence is due to expire.

--If no application has been received 30 days prior to the expiration of the licence, a second reminder notice is mailed to the client.

If the firearm owner does not renew his/her POL, the Canada Firearms Centre takes action to initiate the lawful disposal of the firearms. Specifically,

--The Canada Firearms Centre begins the process to revoke any firearm registration certificates associated with that licence.

--A notice of refusal / revocation is sent to clients via registered mail, informing them of the revocation of their registration certificates, their appeal rights and the acceptable options for disposal of the affected firearms, such as transfer, deactivation, export or surrender to a police agency.

--A copy of the revocation notice is sent to the respective Chief Firearms Officer and the local police agency to ensure awareness and coordination.

If records indicate that the client possesses any or all of, an authorization to carry, ATC, special authority to possess, SAP, or authorization to transport, ATT, a separate notification is sent to the Chief Firearms Officer as a reminder that these permits should also be revoked.

If within 30 days, the Canada Firearms Centre receives no appeal request from the client, has no indication of lawful disposition of the client’s firearms, and all administrative measures have been exhausted, the matter is referred to the local police for their action.