Order Amending the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020): SOR/2024-84

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 158, Number 11

Registration
SOR/2024-84 May 9, 2024

CRIMINAL CODE

P.C. 2024-504 May 9, 2024

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, makes the annexed Order Amending the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020) under subsection 117.14(1)footnote a of the Criminal Code footnote b.

Order Amending the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020)

Amendments

1 (1) Subsection 2(1) of the Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020) footnote 1 is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (e) and by adding the following after paragraph (f):

(2) Subparagraph 2(2)(a)(v) of the Order is replaced by the following:

(3) Subsection 2(2) of the Order is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after paragraph (d):

Coming into Force

2 This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Issues

On May 1, 2020, over 1 500 makes and models of assault-style firearms (ASFs) and their variants became prohibited. At the same time, the upper receivers of M16, AR-10, AR-15 and M4 pattern firearms also became prohibited devices. These changes resulted from the Regulations Amending the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restricted (the Regulations). The accompanying Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020) [the Amnesty Order] protects licensed individuals and businesses who were in lawful possession of one or more of the ASFs or devices prohibited on May 1, 2020, (“the prohibited items”) from criminal liability while they take steps to come into compliance with the law. Individuals and businesses must continue to hold a valid licence during the amnesty period. The Amnesty Order expires on October 30, 2025.

During the amnesty period, affected businesses have a variety of options to dispose of their prohibited items to come into compliance with the law, including (1) having them deactivated by an approved business for no compensation; (2) delivering them to a police officer; (3) legally exporting them; and (4) returning them to the manufacturer. To encourage compliance with the law, the Government has also committed to providing fair compensation for the destruction or deactivation of the prohibited items.

The Amnesty Order only specified one pathway for affected businesses to turn in their prohibited items for destruction, namely by delivery to a police officer. The Amnesty Order did not provide affected businesses with other secure options for turning in the prohibited items for destruction that may be more convenient or that align with established business practices for disposal of the prohibited items. Similarly, the Amnesty Order did not allow other persons or entities to take possession of the prohibited items for the purposes of transportation or destruction. Finally, the Amnesty Order did not allow affected businesses to use shipping services to transport the prohibited items to these persons or entities for destruction or to approved businesses for deactivation.

The Amnesty Order permits individuals and businesses to have their prohibited items deactivated. This implicitly means that deactivation businesses can possess the prohibited items to deactivate them. However, the Amnesty Order did not state this expressly.

Amending the Amnesty Order to address these matters would facilitate compliance with the law and maintain public safety by providing a safe, convenient and effective means of removing the prohibited items from affected businesses.

Background

The Regulations and the Amnesty Order came into force on May 1, 2020. The Regulations prohibited approximately 1 500 makes and models of firearms, principally from 9  families of firearms, including their variants (current and future). Firearms capable of discharging a projectile with a muzzle energy greater than 10 000 joules or with a bore diameter of 20 mm or more were also prohibited because their characteristics exceed safe civilian use. The Regulations also prescribed the upper receivers of the M16, AR-10, AR-15 and M4 pattern firearms to be prohibited devices.

An Amnesty Order under the Criminal Code, which accompanied the Regulations, protects licensed individuals and businesses who were in lawful possession of one or more of the prohibited items from criminal liability and provides time and protection for them to come into compliance with the law. On March 4, 2022, the Amnesty Order was amended to expand the scope of protection and was extended to October 30, 2023 (SOR/2022-45). To allow further time for all affected owners to come into compliance with the law, on October 20, 2023, the Amnesty Order was extended to October 30, 2025 (SOR/2023-223).

The total number of affected ASFs is estimated to be approximately 150 000. Of these, 110 292 were formerly classified as restricted. The remaining approximately 39 708 ASFs were previously classified as non-restricted. This is an estimate since non-restricted firearms are not required to be registered in accordance with the Firearms Act and, therefore, the total volume in Canada is unknown. The number of affected prohibited devices is also unknown. There are 2 381 businesses licensed to possess firearms. Of these, an estimated 370 are known to possess previously restricted ASFs. The number of businesses that may hold previously non-restricted ASFs is unknown. According to recent data, the 370 businesses possess 7 296 previously restricted ASFs, with an estimated 1 778 previously non-restricted ASFs held by the remaining businesses, for a total of 9 074 ASFs.

Upon expiration of the Amnesty Order, individuals and businesses who remain in possession of the prohibited items would be subject to criminal liability and possible imprisonment under the Criminal Code, including for illegal possession of the prohibited items.

Objective

The objective of the amended Amnesty Order is to protect affected businesses from criminal liability as they take the necessary steps to come into compliance with the law, including by turning in their prohibited items for compensation. Specifically, the amended Amnesty Order is intended to make it easier for businesses seeking compensation to dispose of the prohibited items by permitting them to use shipping services to transport the prohibited items for deactivation or destruction. Other amendments would protect shipping service providers during the shipping process and destruction service providers during the destruction process. Finally, other amendments would clarify that businesses that offer deactivation services and their employees are protected while deactivating the prohibited items.

Description

The Amnesty Order has been amended to enable affected businesses to transport the prohibited items to a shipping service provider to use shipping services to transport the prohibited items for destruction or deactivation. Other amendments protect shipping service providers, destruction service providers, and businesses that offer deactivation services (and their employees) while they provide their respective services.

Supporting business disposal of prohibited items

The amended Amnesty Order enables affected businesses to transport their prohibited items to a shipping service provider to ship the prohibited items for deactivation or destruction. While transporting the prohibited items, the affected businesses would be subject to specific requirements already included in the Amnesty Order. These include transporting the items by a route that is reasonably direct; any firearm must be unloaded and no ammunition must be present in the vehicle; the prohibited item must not be visible from outside the vehicle; and the vehicle must not be left unattended. This provides affected businesses with more flexible, convenient and secure means to come into compliance with the law.

Shipping service providers

As noted, the amended Amnesty Order expressly permits businesses to use shipping services to have their prohibited items transported for deactivation or destruction. To that end, the amended Amnesty Order permits shipping service providers to possess, store and transport the prohibited items in the course of their duties for the purpose of destruction. Pursuant to the Storage, Display and Transportation of Firearms and Other Weapons by Businesses Regulations under the Firearms Act, licensed carriers are authorized to transport prohibited firearms (other than prohibited handguns) and prohibited devices, if the carrier holds a firearms licence and, with respect to each shipment, the carrier maintains a record of each prohibited firearm and prohibited device in the shipment. This amendment, therefore, aligns with predominant business practices for transporting the prohibited items under existing federal regulations.

Destruction service providers

The amended Amnesty Order permits destruction service providers to possess, store and transport the prohibited items in the course of their duties for the purpose of destruction.

Clarifying protections for businesses that deactivate prohibited items

The Amnesty Order allows affected owners to dispose of their prohibited items by deactivating them such that the prohibited firearm is no longer a firearm. Although the Amnesty Order clearly protects all affected owners who transport a prohibited firearm to a business for the purpose of deactivation (only approved businesses can deactivate prohibited firearms), the amended Amnesty Order now clarifies that it also protects licensed deactivation businesses and their employees who come into possession of the prohibited firearm for the purposes of deactivation.

Regulatory development

Consultation

These amendments are informed by reactions and communications from impacted stakeholders (e.g. firearms businesses and municipal or provincial law enforcement). No formal consultations were conducted.

Public Safety Canada has engaged with provincial and territorial counterparts as well as key municipal police stakeholders on a variety of firearms initiatives. During over 130 bilateral or regional engagements since summer 2022, some provinces and municipal police expressed concerns that the requirement in the Amnesty Order to turn the prohibited items in “to a police officer” could draw disproportionately on law enforcement resources. In response to these concerns, the Amnesty Order has been amended to permit businesses to access shipping service providers to turn in their prohibited items.

Similarly, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and some firearms businesses expressed concerns that, while the Amnesty Order expressly permits deactivation, it does not expressly protect businesses who offer deactivation services. Therefore, the amended Amnesty Order ensures that businesses who provide deactivation services and their employees are protected while providing that service.

Further, these amendments respond to recommendations from the Mass Casualty Commission for the federal government to take steps to rapidly reduce the number of prohibited semi-automatic firearms in circulation in Canada. Facilitating the removal of the prohibited items from firearms businesses will contribute to reducing the risks these items pose, including risks of diversion to illicit markets or subsequent use in criminal activity. While the prohibited items are no longer legally available for purchase or sale in Canada, these amendments support their permanent removal from firearms businesses by providing affected businesses with greater opportunity and flexibility to come into compliance with the law.

A prepublication comment period in the Canada Gazette, Part I, was not undertaken because the amendments to the Amnesty Order are remedial in nature, do not create new offences in the Criminal Code and do not impose new restrictions or burdens on individuals or businesses. There are no significant costs related to the amendments and the expanded scope of amnesty protection, including facilitating businesses to turn in their prohibited items, are for reasons of legal liability (i.e. exposure to criminal jeopardy) that are not subject or amenable to public comment.

Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation, a preliminary assessment has been conducted for this proposal, and there do not appear to be any implications on Canada’s modern treaty obligations. The amendments will provide affected businesses with more flexible and convenient means to come into compliance with the law. The Amnesty Order will continue to permit individuals who hunt for sustenance purposes or who exercise a right recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 to transport an ASF that was previously classified as a non-restricted firearm so that it can continue to be used safely for such purposes.

Instrument choice

No non-regulatory options were considered, as amendments to the Amnesty Order were necessary to address the matters identified above.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

The amendments provide affected businesses with greater flexibility and convenience in how they can come into compliance with the law, including by securely transporting their prohibited items to shipping service providers to ship the prohibited items for deactivation or destruction. The amendments also provide protection for persons and entities identified therein to engage in specified activities associated with the collection, transportation and disposal of the prohibited items in a manner that is safe, convenient and cost-effective. This also alleviates pressures on local and regional law enforcement capacity by broadening the scope of persons who are permitted to transport the prohibited items. In doing so, it provides for a more efficient and effective collection of prohibited items in a manner that is safe, secure and convenient for affected businesses. The amendments also provide certainty to businesses that offer deactivation services that their employees are protected while deactivating the prohibited firearms.

Costs would be incurred by the Department of Justice and Public Safety Canada for the preparation and implementation of the Amnesty Order. However, it is anticipated that they would not be significant.

Small business lens

The amendments provide protection from potential criminal liability to businesses, including small businesses that store or perform work to deactivate the prohibited firearms on behalf of their clients. This allows these businesses to legally carry out these services during the amnesty period. Given the context of the instrument, no additional flexibilities were considered necessary for small businesses.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply to this proposal, as there will be no incremental change in administrative burden to businesses. The amendments to the Amnesty Order do not introduce new administrative requirements for businesses.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The amendments to the Amnesty Order do not raise trade law implications, as they do not involve the sale, import or export of firearms. The proposal is not related to a work plan or commitment under a formal regulatory cooperation forum.

Strategic environmental assessment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

A gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) assessment was completed to determine whether the proposed amendments would have differential impacts on people in Canada based on factors such as gender, age, Indigenous identity, geography, etc. The proposed measures would have a gender differential impact, as men are more likely to possess and use firearms, compared to women. Additionally, based on existing survey data suggesting that more people in rural areas own firearms, the initiative is expected to have a disproportionate positive impact on people living in certain areas of the country (e.g. rural), where firearms are more prominent.

Rationale

The Amnesty Order came into force on May 1, 2020, to allow affected owners time and options to come into compliance with the law.

The amended Amnesty Order protects affected businesses as they take the necessary steps to come into compliance with the law, including by turning in their prohibited items for compensation. The amendments are intended to make it easier for businesses to dispose of the prohibited items by permitting them to use shipping services to transport the prohibited items for deactivation or destruction. Other amendments protect shipping service providers, destruction service providers and businesses that offer deactivation services (and their employees), as they possess the prohibited items while providing their respective services. Some of the activities involved in coming into compliance with the law could constitute certain Criminal Code offences (e.g. possession or transportation of the prohibited items). Without protection under the Amnesty Order, affected businesses and service providers would be exposed to criminal liability while taking the steps required to dispose of the prohibited items or disposing of them. The amended Amnesty Order permits these activities and protects persons involved in them, thereby promoting public safety by ensuring that the prohibited items are disposed of in a safe and secure manner.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

The amended Amnesty Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered. Those who remain in possession of prohibited items at the end of the amnesty period (October 30, 2025) could be subject to criminal liability for unlawful possession of prohibited items.

Compliance and enforcement

As with the Regulations and original Amnesty Order, the disposal of prohibited items is dependent on voluntary compliance by affected businesses. Calculation of the compliance rate will be complicated by the lack of information about the prohibited items and their owners. The compliance rate for previously non-restricted firearms will be based on the number of businesses that declare themselves to be in possession of one or more affected firearms, possible compensation and the deactivation process.

Contacts

Public Safety Canada
General inquiries
Telephone: 613‑944‑4875 or 1‑800‑830‑3118
Email: ps.firearms-armesafeu.sp@ps-sp.gc.ca

Department of Justice
General inquiries
Telephone: 613‑957‑4222
Email: webadmin@justice.gc.ca