Former Bill C–21

Date: March 1, 2022
Classification: Unclassified
Branch / Agency: CPB

Proposed Response:

• Former Bill C-21, introduced in February 2021, was the most comprehensive suite of initiatives to combat firearms crime since the establishment of the Firearms Act. It recognized that firearms crime is not uniform.
• Our Government is committed to re-introducing legislation that responds to the different forms of firearms crime to reduce violence on our streets and in our homes.
• Our government will take action to remove newly prohibited assault-style firearms from our communities, by making it mandatory for owners to deactivate or surrender these firearms.
• We will re-introduce “red and yellow flag laws” to prevent firearms-related deaths in cases of family violence and self-harm by limiting access to firearms by those who pose a risk of harm to themselves or others.
• We will increase the maximum penalty for weapons traffickers from 10 to 14 years imprisonment — the highest penalty other than life imprisonment — to target those that smuggle firearms.
• We will make it an offence to alter a magazine to limit the proliferation of high-capacity magazines.
• We will provide Canadian law enforcement agencies access to firearms licensing information where straw purchasing is suspected to help keep legal firearms out of the hands of criminals and gangs.
• And, we will require a valid firearms licence to import ammunition to help prevent illegal ammunition from entering the country.
• These are but some of the measures the Government will bring forward as part of new legislation.

Background:

An Act to amend certain Acts and to make certain consequential amendments (firearms) (Former Bill C-21) was introduced in Parliament on February 16, 2021. The former Bill attained Second Reading before the 2021 general election was called, and died on the Order Paper. It was a comprehensive package to combat firearms crime and establish the legal framework to complete the prohibition of assault-style firearms. The former Bill contained measures across seven main pillars.

Helping reduce firearms-related deaths in cases of family violence and self-harm

The former bill contained three distinct measures to limit access to firearms by those who pose a risk of harm to themselves or others:

• “Red flag law”: the Criminal Code would have been amended to allow anyone to apply to a judge for an order to immediately remove firearms from 1) an individual who may pose a danger to themselves or others, or 2) a third party who could provide firearms to such an individual. The order would have been for a period of 30 days. Such applications are now available only to peace officers, firearms officers, and Chief Firearms Officers.
• “Yellow flag law”: a new provision in the Firearms Act would have allowed a Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) to temporarily suspend an individual’s firearms licence if the CFO receives information calling into question their licence eligibility. During the suspension, an individual would have been prohibited from using their firearms, and could not acquire new ones. This would have provided a pause while CFOs assess whether to revoke the licence. If the reasonable suspicion is eliminated prior to the end of the 30 days, the licence would have been immediately reinstated.
• Required the surrender of firearms during a legal challenge of licence revocation, and measures to facilitate their safe disposal if required. Owners would no longer retain their firearms while appealing a revocation.

Targeting criminal use and diversion of firearms to the illicit market

• Closed the gap in the Criminal Code regarding ‘replica’ firearms by ensuring the prohibition on importation, exportation and sale applies to all non-regulated airguns that look like modern firearms. Unregulated airguns that look like modern firearms and fire a projectile below 366 feet per second (fps) are already considered replicas, and are prohibited. This amendment would have closed a gap to ensure that air guns firing a projectile between 366 and 500 fps are also considered replicas if they look like modern firearms. Current owners would have been allowed to keep those they already own, but they could not have transfered them to another person.
• Amended the Firearms Act to require presentation of a firearms licence to import ammunition to ensure that individuals without a licence cannot obtain ammunition from abroad, e.g. for an illegal firearm.
• Amended the Firearms Act to authorize the disclosure of information about firearms licence holders to Canadian law enforcement agencies when there are reasonable grounds to suspect the licence is being used for straw purchasing and weapons trafficking. A reporting requirement would have been added to the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Firearms to ensure transparency.

Establishing new firearms-related offences and strengthened penalties

• Created a new Criminal Code offence for altering a cartridge magazine to hold more than its lawful capacity. Maximum penalty of five years imprisonment on indictment or punishable on summary conviction.
• Created a new Firearms Act offence for a business that promotes or depicts violence in firearms advertising. Maximum penalty of two years imprisonment, in the case of a first offence, and five years for each subsequent offence.
• Imposed stronger Criminal Code penalties for gun smuggling and trafficking and related offences. Increased maximum penalties from 10 years to 14 years imprisonment.

Strengthen border controls to combat firearms smuggling, trafficking and other offences

• Improved the ability of the CBSA to manage inadmissibility to Canada when foreign nationals commit offences upon entry to Canada, including firearms-related offences. Technical amendments to Immigration and Refugee Protection Act would have clarified that the existing regulation-making power may prescribe specific offences, whether in Acts or regulations, as applicable for this inadmissibility ground. Concurrent regulatory amendments are under development which would better focus the inadmissibility on the most serious cross-border offences, and would provide officers at ports of entry the authority to issue removal orders for the most straightforward offences, such as importing a firearm without a permit.
• Transfered policy responsibility for transborder criminality from the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. This would better align with the Minister of Public Safety’s existing policy responsibilities with respect to border management, immigration enforcement, and criminal law enforcement.

Support municipalities that wish to further restrict handguns

• Compliance with handgun storage and transport restrictions would have become a condition of federal firearms licence in municipalities that pass bylaws to: (1) prohibit storage at home (i.e. owners must store handguns at a licensed business); or, (2) prohibit storage anywhere in municipality, and transport to or from certain places in it.
• Municipalities would have notified the Minister of bylaws creating these restrictions. The Registrar of Firearms would inform affected licence holders. Conditions of license would apply after 180 days to provide time for compliance. The Commissioner of Firearms would have maintained a public list where restrictions apply.
• Additional eligible grounds for storage restriction bylaws could have been prescribed by regulation to adapt the regime, and in response to local needs. The GiC may also prescribe exceptions.
• Breach of a condition of federal licence would have carried a penalty of up to two years imprisonment and possible revocation of licence or registration certificate.

Establish conditions for retention of newly-prohibited firearms

The former Bill would have created a lawful compliance option for those who preferred not to surrender their firearms: new grounds for non-permissive storage of prohibited firearms. However, the Government’s platform commitment noted an intent to make buyback mandatory.

Technical amendments

The former Bill would have revised authorities of certain federal entities:

• Updated the definition of public officers in the Criminal Code to include security personnel of the Bank of Canada, Royal Canadian Mint and other individuals prescribed by the GIC.
• Granted limited peace officer status to security personnel at Canada’s nuclear facilities and provide independent review of their actions.
• Amended the Firearms Act provisions for Authorizations to Carry (ATC) for personal protection to allow only the Commissioner of Firearms to approve; and formalize the approval requirements in regulations.
• Made other technical amendments and ensure concordance of the English and French versions.

Date modified:

2022-08-10