No evidence to support Bill C-71 changes to Authorizations to Transport firearms

GUEST COMMENTARY by Dennis Young

Trudeau government has no evidence to support Bill C-71 amendments to Authorizations to Transport firearms

The Findings

1. The RCMP and Goodale’s department don’t have any evidence of the cost or effectiveness of issuing ATTs to licensed gun owners.
2. The Ontario CFO issued 244,902 ATTs between 2010 and 2017 and report zero persons charged with a criminal offence while failing to have a valid ATT.
3. According to statistics provided by the Ontario CFO, the Harper government’s Bill C-42 reduced the number of ATTs issued in Ontario each year by two thirds and cut the provinces annual ATT processing costs by 67%.
4. For the years between 2010 and 2017, not one of the five police services in Toronto, Hamilton, Peel Region, Durham Region and Ottawa had records showing even one licensed firearm owner being charged with a firearms offence while failing to have a valid ATT.

The Report

Prime Minister Trudeau and many of his Ministers made promises both before and after being elected in support of ‘evidence-based’ programs and yes, even gun control policies. The Liberal government firearms Bill C-71 immediately revokes Authorizations To Transport firearms for licensed gun owners with restricted firearms. Under this new gun control legislation, it will still be possible to transport your firearms from store to home and between home and your target range. However, transporting your firearms to gun shows, gunsmiths, border crossings and airports will now require special written permission from Provincial Chief Firearms Officers (CFOs). The previous Conservative government had made ATTs a condition of the gun owners’ RCMP approved firearms license, thereby saving hundreds of thousands in tax dollars, bureaucratic red tape, inconvenience and compliance costs for lawful firearms owners without compromising public or police safety in the slightest.

Earlier this year, I went in search of the ‘evidence’ the Liberals promised voters that would support their legislative changes to the ATT procedures. In February, in response to an Access to Information Act ( ATIP) request the RCMP admitted that they were unable to find any records in response to my request. In April, in response to another Access to Information Act (ATIP) request the Minister of Public Safety’s office also admitted they didn’t have any evidence supporting their own legislation related to ATTs.

Stymied by the RCMP and Minister Goodale’s office, I sent a Freedom of Information (FOIP) request to the Province of Ontario requesting their Authorization to Transport statistics. On May 22, 2018, the Ontario Chief Firearms Office sent a partial reply to my request:

These answers cover the years from 2010 to 2017:

1. the total number of Authorizations to Transport firearms that were issued by the Ontario CFO (244,902)
2. the total number of Authorizations to Transport firearms that were refused (5)
3. the total number of Authorizations to Transport firearms that were revoked (The CFO does not revoke ATTs: If someone’s licence is revoked the ATT becomes invalid) [COMMENT: This CFO response is not true. I have been made aware of several firearm owners who have had their ATTs revoked by CFOs.]
4. the total number of persons charged with a criminal offence while failing to have a valid Authorization to Transport firearms (0)
5. the total number of licensed firearms owners that were charged with a criminal offence while failing to have a valid Authorization to Transport firearms (the CFO is administrative in nature and does not have law enforcement information).
6. the average cost of processing and issuing an Authorization to Transport firearms (There is no fee for processing an ATT).

I immediately filed a complaint with the Office of the Ontario Information Commissioner disputing the answers the Ontario CFO provided me in response to questions 1. and 6.

ITEM #1 – The Ministry’s reply only provided an aggregate number of ATTs issued for the entire seven-year period – not for each year as I requested.

ITEM #6 – I specifically requested: (6) “the average cost of processing and issuing an Authorization to Transport firearms” – Not whether gun owners had to pay a “fee” for processing the ATT. How many person hours were dedicated to processing ATTs and what was the average pay for those employees?

On September 1, 2018, I received the Ontario CFO’s complete answer to my Items 1 and 6: (see chart below).

It’s no wonder the Ontario CFO was trying to fudge the answers to my items 1. and 6. Just look how the number of ATTs issued and the cost of processing dropped in 2016 and 2017 after passage of the Harper government’s Bill C-42. An official in the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition commented on these numbers: “Glad to know that C-42 saved Ontario $50-60k per year.” Before Bill C-71 is passed into law, the public needs to know how much time and money were saved Canada wide – not just in one province.

So that still left my CFO FOIP request for Item 5. unanswered: The total number of licensed firearms owners that were charged with a criminal offence while failing to have a valid Authorization to Transport firearms. The RCMP doesn’t have the answer. Goodale’s department who introduced the Liberal’s new firearms bill doesn’t have the answer either. So, what ‘evidence’ did they base their ATT amendments on? An official in the Ontario CFO office suggested I would have to file a FOIP request with all 52 police services in Ontario to get these statistics. I found out they don’t. As a test, I chose to file FOIP requests with the Toronto Police Service, Ottawa Police Service, Peel Regional Police Service, Durham Regional Police Service and the Hamilton Police Service.Their responses revealed that for the eight years between 2010 and 2017, not one of the five police services had records showing even one licensed firearm owner being charged with a firearms offence while failing to have a valid Authorization to Transport firearms.

SUMMARY OF FOIP RESPONSES FROM POLICE SERVICES

CONCLUDED: TORONTO POLICE SERVICE FOIP – MAY 6, 2018 – File: ONT002
TPS FOIP FILE: 18-1966
Number of Licensed Gun Owners charged with a criminal offence and no ATT
July 21, 2018 – Sent note to Mr. P. McGee asking for a status report.
August 20, 2018 – “Our service does not track the information you requested.”

CONCLUDED: OTTAWA POLICE SERVICE FOIP – MAY 6, 2018 – File: ONT003
OPS FOIP FILE: 18-474
Number of Licensed Gun Owners charged with a criminal offence and no ATT
July 6, 2018 – “requested information is not captured” response”

CONCLUDED: PEEL REGIONAL POLICE SERVICE FOIP – MAY 6, 2018 – File: ONT004
PRPS FOIP FILE: 18-0525
Number of Licensed Gun Owners charged with a criminal offence and no ATT
June 26, 2018 – Received a no records reply dated June 19, 2018
“Unable to locate any responsive records”

CONCLUDED: DURHAM REGION POLICE SERVICE FOIP – MAY 6, 2018 – File: ONT005
DRPS FOIP FILE: 18-0627
Number of Licensed Gun Owners charged with a criminal offence and no ATT
June 20, 2018 – “a thorough search of Durham Regional Police Service records for licensed firearm owners that have been charged with transporting firearms without lawful authority returned with zero results.”

CONCLUDED: HAMILTON POLICE SERVICE FOIP – MAY 6, 2018 – File: ONT006
HPS FOIP FILE: 18-0509
June 22, 2018 – Received response dated June 14, 2018
Number of Licensed Gun Owners charged with a criminal offence and no ATT – Zero
Provided the following statistics unrelated to my request:
· Firearm Transfer without Authority = 4
· Transferring Firearm, Weapon, Device without Authority = 2