Parliamentary Committee Notes: QA on additions to the ban
Q1: After the May 1, 2020 prohibition came into effect, additional firearms were banned. Why was this done?
A: Since the prohibition came into effect on May 1, 2020 no new assault-style firearms have been banned under the Regulations. The Criminal Code and its Regulations are the legal instruments for classifying firearms in Canada.
On May 1, 2020, the Governor-in-Council amended the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and other Weapons, Components, and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited or Restricted (the “Regulation”) to reclassify over 1,500 models of firearms and their variants as prohibited firearms. Nine principal models of assault-style firearms are prohibited as they (1) have semi-automatic action with sustained rapid-fire capability (tactical/military design with large magazine capacity), (2) are of modern design, and (3) are present in large volumes in the Canadian market.
Subsequent to the May 1, 2020 Order in Council, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Canadian Firearms Program updated the Firearms Reference Table (FRT) to reflect the firearms that were specifically listed in the Regulation, and those that would, in the opinion of the their firearm experts, constitute variants. These updates were made as quickly as possible and the last such update occurred on June 15, 2020.
Further, any firearm that the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program becomes aware of, will obtain an FRT entry. If the firearm is determined to be a variant of one of the nine families, the firearm will be classified as prohibited.
Q2: Manufacturers have managed to introduce new assault-style firearms. What is Government doing to prevent that certain manufacturers of firearms cannot circumvent the prohibition of assault-style firearms?
A: The May 1, 2020 prohibition applies to named and unmade variants of the nine principal models of assault-style firearms that are prohibited. While some manufacturers may have continued to design and market new variants of the now prohibited firearms that were not expressly listed by name in the Regulations, these new firearms would be prohibited by virtue of being a variant of one of the nine families.
As a result, since the May 1, 2020 prohibition, the list of assault-style firearms designated as prohibited firearms in the Firearms Reference Table (FRT) has grown to include additional firearms that meet the criteria the Governor-in-Council applied in order to determine the initial 1,500 models in the Order in Council.
However, any other manufactured assault-stye firearm that has been designed and marketed and does not meet the criteria may be lawfully possessed.
The RCMP Canadian Firearms Program actively reviews the FRT entries in light of the Regulations. When a firearm is not specifically marketed or otherwise identified as a variant of a prohibited firearm, the RCMP will evaluate the firearm to determine, for the purposes of its entry into the FRT, whether it is a variant of the nine families.
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