| Canadian Firearms Program | |
|---|---|
| Programme canadien des armes à feu | |
| Heraldic badge of the RCMP | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 2008 |
| Preceding agency | Canada Firearms Centre |
| Jurisdiction | Firearm Registration and Licensing |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Annual budget | $84 million [1] |
| Minister responsible | Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety |
| Agency executives | Bob Paulson, Commissioner of Firearms Line Carbonneau, Deputy Commissioner/PSS Pierre Perron, Director General/Chief Superintendent[2] |
| Parent agency | Royal Canadian Mounted Police |
| Website | |
| CFP Webpage | |
Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) (French: Programme Canadien des Armes à Feu) (PCAF), formerly Canada Firearms Centre is a Canadian government program within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Policing Support Services, responsible for licensing and regulating firearms in Canada.
As of September 2011, the Canadian Firearms Program recorded a total of 1,886,057 valid firearms licences, which is roughly 5.5% of the Canadian population (based on CIA World Factbook July 2011 estimate). The four most licensed provinces are, in order, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.[3]
Contents |
Bill C-68: An Act Respecting Firearms and Other Weapons was assented in 1995, two years after the bill was introduced by the government to the House of Commons in targeting firearms licensing and registration. CFC was officially created and began operation in 1996 to oversee the administration of the Firearms Act and the Canadian Firearms Program.[4]
On May 17, 2006, responsibility for the Canadian Firearms Program was transferred from the Ministry of Public Safety to the RCMP.
On September 4, 2008, the Canada Firearms Centre and the Firearms Support Services Directorate of RCMP was merged to create the Canadian Firearms Program.
CFP celebrated the 10th anniversary of the opening of Central Processing Site in Miramichi, New Brunswick in 2008.[5]
Under the Constitution of Canada, the federal government has the power to regulate firearm ownership under the criminal law power(See Supreme Court of Canada Reference Case on Firearms Act). Despite this, each province is free to opt in to operate the program and its regulations – Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have chosen to opt in[6] and British Columbia is contemplating the idea.[7] However, the CFP continues to be the central data-processing site and is responsible for the physical issuance of Possession and Acquisition Licence in all case.[8] Those who chose to opt in would have all the administrative fees reimbursed by the federal government per section 95 of the Firearms Act.[9]
CFP is a program within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The chain of command is as follows:[2]
The Commissioner of the RCMP serves as the Commissioner of Firearms, the chief executive of the program. The Commissioner is assisted by a Deputy Commissioner (Policing Support Services). They are responsible to the Minister of Public Safety Canada and thus accountable to the Parliament of Canada.
An RCMP officer is appointed as the Director General to oversee the day-to-day administration of the CFP.
A Registrar of Firearms is appointed to issue and revoke firearms registration certificates and carriers’ licences and maintain the records on Canadian Firearms Registry. The Registrar is also responsible for administering the Public Agents Firearms Regulations.
There are four (4) major areas within the CFP, which are managed by the Deputy Commissioner, Policing Support Services:
The CFP offers a wide variety of investigational support services to police:
Each province has its own Chief Firearms Officer (CFO), appointed either by the Government of Canada or by the Executive Council of the province they served in. The three territories shares a CFO with another province (British Columbia - Yukon, Alberta - Northwest Territories & Manitoba - Nunavut). They are responsible for making decisions (grant, deny, revoke or put conditions) on licensing (ie. Possession and Acquisition Licence), Authorization to Transport, Authorization to Carry and transfer of firearms along with all of its administrative work.[10]
Each province also appoint firearms officers (generally speaking, police officers or RCMP Civilian members) to inspect and ensure compliance within the definition of the Firearms Act. They may apply to court for a preventative prohibition order if it is in the public's interest that a person should not be in possession of any weapons regulated under the Firearms Act.[11] In carrying out their duties, they can demand firearms be presented to them and samples to be taken.[12] Failure to comply is a summary offence which may lead to complications when one is up to renew his or her firearms licence for previous contravention of the Firearms Act.[13]