Senate Committee — SECD — Brief — 2023-10-20_secd_c21_brief_freberg_e

SECD / Brief / 2023-10-20_secd_c21_brief_freberg_e

Senate Committees

1 Saskatchewan Firearms Office Cardinal Crescent Saskatoon, Canada S7L 6H8 Phone: 1-833-792-2706 Brief on Bill C-21,

An Act to Amend Certain Acts (Firearms) Standing Committee on National Security, Defence, and Veterans Affairs Sent via email to: Ericka.Dupont@sen.parl.gc.ca October 20, 2023 Honourable Senators RE: Recommendations to the Senate regarding Bill C-21 Thank you for your invitation to speak before your committee on this topic. It is hoped that this written brief will provide further detail in advance of, and to consider after, my appearance before you. Slow Ban on Handguns Bill C-21 has had a long and tortured history as it has made its way through the Houses of Parliament.

Initially introduced in May of 2022, one of the hallmarks of the Bill was that it would impose a “freeze” on handgun transfers, preventing licenced individuals from bringing new handguns into the country and stopping all transfers within the country.1 Once it became apparent that Bill C-21 was going to take considerable time and effort to get passed, and that the number of handguns purchased and sold since May of had skyrocketed, regulations mirroring the handgun “freeze” were implemented on October 20, 2022, without notice to licence holders, business owners, or even Chief Firearms Officers.

This caused considerable confusion as many individuals had ordered handguns from businesses waiting for them to arrive and had paid for the items. Many businesses had to refund purchases but were left with stock that they could no longer sell which had been in transit. At present, accurate statistics of the financial impact are not yet available. The majority of handgun owners are sport shooters, as handguns are only usable for target shooting at an approved range.

In a Conference Board of Canada study determined that the sports shooting industry contributes $1.8 billion to Canada’s economy, $868 million in labour income, and supports approximately 14,500 jobs.2 Given the steady increase in firearms sales into the 2020s, it is likely that number could be considerably higher if not for the restrictions in place. 1 Further strengthening our gun control laws | Prime Minister of Canada (pm.gc.ca) 2 Canada Gazette,

Part 2, Volume 156, Number 23: Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Firearms Act Besides the broad economic impact of a slow-ban on handguns, the individual impact is direct and obvious. Those that have purchased firearms legally can no longer legally sell them. Property that they lawfully own is rendered valueless. For some collectors, this has resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of dollars. For beneficiaries of estates, there is a real loss in value if they are bequeathed or otherwise inherit firearms.

As it stands, those that could have inherited handguns for their own use prior to the “freeze” are left with the only legal option being surrender and destruction. In Saskatchewan, the province has exercised its jurisdiction around property and civil rights to establish the Saskatchewan Firearms Act. This legislation requires that any forced confiscation of firearms, regardless of if the federal government has committed to a “buyback” program or not, requires that appropriate compensation be paid to the individual suffering the loss prior to the destruction of the firearm.

In Saskatchewan alone there are approximately 65,000 RPAL holders. Assuming a conservative estimate of two handguns per individual, with a conservative estimate of $1000 for each handgun, ammunition, and accessories, that is a cost of $130 million in compensation that will be owed as licenced individuals die, or otherwise surrender their firearms. Undoubtedly there are parts of the country where violence inflicted by handguns is real and significant. In the majority of these situations those handguns are smuggled into the country and were never owned by a licenced owner.

Preventing lawful handgun ownership will do nothing to staunch the flow of illegal handguns across our mainly unmonitored border with the United States. Statistically, licenced firearms owners are seldom involved in violent crimes involving firearms3. Prior to the freeze occurring, there were individuals that were grandfathered to own prohibited handguns (12.6 status) and they were permitted to sell or transfer to other 12.6 status holders.

As a testament to the law-abiding nature of licenced firearm owners, in the 20 years of this privilege being available very few of those firearms fell into the hands of criminals or were used in crimes. Statistically, we should be able to expect the same of all licenced individuals. A continued decrease in handgun ownership and use will cause the closure of ranges which rely on membership fees to operate, which will negatively impact law enforcement and military who use these ranges to maintain their skills. They also make up a considerable percentage of those that are involved in sport shooting of handguns.

Recommendation It is recommended that Bill C-21 be amended to permit Chief Firearms Officers in each province be permitted to allow, or disallow, transfers of handguns within their jurisdiction. Saskatchewan does not have the same issue with handgun violence that more metropolitan centers have. If, for example, the majority of the citizens in the Province of Ontario wish to continue with a slow-ban on handgun ownership, they can make their elected officials aware of that desire, and they should be afforded that right.

A one size fits all approach is not effective, and hard for those affected to accept and embrace. 3 StatsCan treats PAL holders as criminals - Justice For Gun Owners Obtaining compliance with firearms legislation Although the possession of firearms without a licence has been a criminal code offence for decades, there are still a significant number of individuals that possess and use firearms in an otherwise non-criminal manner, such as ranching, farming, or harvesting. In Saskatchewan, we see incredibly low numbers of licence holders in Indigenous communities.

In working with our Indigenous partners, we have discovered that there is a widely held belief that a firearms licence is not required where an individual is exercising their treaty right to hunt; much like a provincial hunting or harvesting licence is not required for that activity. Hunting is such an integral way of life to many Indigenous communities, and the firearms they use are their tools. Because those tools have a dangerous aspect to them there needs to be a minimum standard of knowledge and safe practices imparted upon those that possess these tools.

In Saskatchewan we are engaging with our Indigenous partners to provide funding for education around safe storage and to get individuals licenced. One common question we are asked is “Why can’t Indigenous governments establish their own licencing regime?”. The Saskatchewan Firearms Office supports Indigenous hunting rights and has been utilizing the available fee waiver program when individuals apply. This is despite push back from the Canadian Firearms Program, who have questioned our widespread but appropriate use of the fee waiver provisions.

Recommendation The Senate should study the possibility of inserting language into Bill C-21 that allows for self determination around licencing of Indigenous individuals by their sovereign governments, that meet a minimum standard that is acceptable to all levels of government. It is likely that increased compliance and buy in will occur, which only has the potential to increase public safety. I look forward to discussing this, and other topics, when I appear before you. Robert Freberg Commissioner and Chief Firearms Officer Saskatchewan Firearms Office

Document details

Collection	Senate Committees
Citation	SECD / Brief / 2023-10-20_secd_c21_brief_freberg_e
Type	committee
Volume / chapter	441 / Brief / 2023-10-20_secd_c21_brief_freberg_e
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	COMM_SEN
Identifier	75708156d3538473462229fad96a6822756dda6d

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