On Parliament Hill

Standing up for Law-Abiding Gun Owners

  • Ted Falk, Author
  • Member of Parliament, Provencher

Our Government tabled the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act on Tuesday October 7th. This bill meets the Government’s objective to cut red tape for law-abiding firearm owners and provide safe and simple firearms policies.

Among the many provisions of the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act, it will allow the Government to have the final say on classification decisions, following the receipt of independent expert advice.

As the MP for Provencher, I am pleased that our Conservative Government has made significant progress in defending law-abiding gun owners. In addition to ending the wasteful long-gun registry, we are taking additional steps to simplify and reduce administrative burdens for firearm owners.

Some of these proposed amendments include:

  • Introducing a 6 month grace period for those whose license has expired, preventing them from potentially facing criminal penalties.
  • Streamlining the licensing system by eliminating the Possession Only Licence (POL) and converting all existing POLs to Possession and Acquisition Licences (PALs).
  • Requiring a weapons prohibition for those convicted of violent domestic assault which may include a life-long ban.

In our efforts to simplify the process, we will also eliminate the requirement to apply separately for an Authorization to Transport (ATT) in order to transport restricted and prohibited firearms for certain legal activities, such as:

  • Traveling to shooting ranges for practice or competition;
  • Returning to an individual’s home following Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) approval of the transfer of ownership;
  • Going to a gunsmith, a gun show or a Canadian port of exit; and
  • Going to a peace officer or a CFO for verification, registration or disposal.

For safety reasons, we will also require that first-time license applicants be required to participate in the classroom component of the safety training courses and successfully complete the test.

For further information please visit www.tedfalk.ca for more information regarding the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act.

This post was published on 10/12/2014