Facts and Figures (January - March, 2010)

Canadian Firearms Program

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• Firearms licensing
• Firearms registration
• Other CFP Performance Information

Firearms Licensing

Firearms Licences

There are currently three types of firearms licences for individuals in Canada: the Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL), the Possession Only Licence (POL) and the Minor’s Licence. Only the PAL and Minor’s Licence are available for new applicants.

• Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL): allows the licence holder to possess and acquire firearms and ammunition.
• Possession Only Licence (POL): allows the licence holder to possess, but not acquire, firearms, and to both possess and acquire ammunition.
• Minor’s Licence: the only licence available to individuals under 18 years of age. It allows the licence holder to use non-restricted firearms for specific activities such as hunting or target practice.

All businesses and organizations that produce, sell, possess, handle, display or store firearms or ammunition are required to have a valid firearms business licence.

Valid Licences as of March 2010

Province/Territory	Possession Licence	Possession and Acquisition Licence	Minor Licence	Total
Alberta	72,378	140,121	1,216	213,715
British Columbia	85,501	127,744	301	213,546
Manitoba	31,302	47,560	257	79,119
New Brunswick	45,393	28,071	107	73,571
Newfoundland and Labrador	29,701	41,421	144	71,266
Northwest Territories	762	4,219	37	5,018
Nova Scotia	45,119	29,535	1,224	75,878
Nunavut	80	2,821	14	2,915
Ontario	212,906	296,515	3,880	513,301
Prince Edward Island	3,801	2,778	12	6,591
Quebec	185,498	299,446	22	484,966
Saskatchewan	35,826	53,550	85	89,461
Yukon	1,310	4,614	48	5,972
Total	749,577	1,078,395	7,347	1,835,319

Number of Licences Issued (including renewals) in the January – March 2010 Period

Licence Renewal

A firearms licence for an individual is valid for five years, at which point the individual must renew the licence.

Renewal Statistics for Licence Holders who have Registered Firearms

Quarter	Total Number of Licences Set to Expire During the Period	Renewed	Did not Renew	Renewal Rate for Firearm Owners
2007 Q 2	82,041	68,911	13,130	84.0%
2007 Q 3	81,370	66,730	14,640	82.0%
2007 Q 4	75,157	58,857	16,300	78.3%
2008 Q 1	77,102	60,711	16,391	78.7%
2008 Q 2	81,816	66,534	15,282	81.3%
2008 Q 3	78,832	61,878	16,954	78.5%
2008 Q 4	71,411	54,032	17,379	75.7%
2009 Q 1	73,261	54,713	18,548	74.7%
2009 Q 2	77,852	58,982	18,870	75.8%
2009 Q 3	76,206	60,138	16,068	78.9%
2009 Q 4	62,618	48,839	13,779	78.0%
2010 Q 1	65,508	48,877	16,631	74.6%

Safety Training

Firearms safety training is a fundamental element of the Canadian Firearms Program. To obtain a PAL or a Minor’s Licence an applicant must have satisfied the requirements of the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC). It is also possible in some cases for a PAL applicant to receive alternative certification. To own or acquire restricted firearms, an individual must satisfy the requirements of the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC) or have been alternatively certified, in addition to having satisfied the requirements of the CFSC. These courses help ensure that those who possess and use firearms are fully aware of their responsibility for the safe handling, transport and storage of firearms.

Year	No. of Alternative Certifications	No. of CFSCs	No. of CFSC Students	No. of CRFSC	No. of CRFSC Students
before 1999	23,262	182	1,744	20	119
1999	202	4,590	43,911	1,120	6,501
2000	5,221	9,633	81,290	2,313	12,101
2001	1,413	6,211	57,064	1,686	9,074
2002	3,044	5,239	49,731	1,743	10,060
2003	708	4,176	37,650	1,347	7,844
2004	465	3,899	36,277	1,251	8,201
2005	753	4,273	40,738	1,446	9,028
2006	1,544	4,968	47,535	1,747	10,400
2007	910	5,551	55,675	2,119	13,302
2008	447	6,650	65,531	2,543	16,997
2009	231	6,700	66,175	2,754	19,490
2010	42	938	9,627	379	2,993
Total	38,242	63,010	592,948	20,468	126,110

NOTE: These totals do not include the number of individuals who have taken the above courses in Quebec.

Licence Refusals and Revocations

Licensing of an individual to possess firearms requires a variety of background checks. Applicants are screened to detect potential public safety risks based on information provided with a firearms licence application. Continuous eligibility screening is conducted over the term of the licence to identify any public safety risks that may arise over time. A licence may also be revoked following a court order or a Chief Firearm Officer’s investigation resulting from a call to the CFP’s public safety line (1-800-731-4000).

The Registrar of Firearms is notified of all licence revocations, is responsible for revoking all associated registration certificates, and works to ensure proper disposal of the firearms. For more information on refusals and revocations, please consult the
Firearms Act.

NOTE: Reasons for licence refusals or revocations include: a history of violence, mental illness, potential risk to oneself or others, unsafe firearm use and storage, drug offences, and providing false information.

Licence Refusals by Year

Year	Refused Applications
2005	345
2006	391
2007	438
2008	460
2009	515
2010	156

Licence Revocations by Year

Year	Licences Revoked
2005	2,286
2006	2,064
2007	1,749
2008	1,831
2009	2,084
2010	632

Firearms Registration

The registration of firearms links firearms and their licensed owners, thereby enhancing owners’ accountability for safe storage and use of firearms. A centralized, on-line, secure database of firearms information helps police and other public safety officials carry out investigations efficiently and effectively enabling them to quickly trace a firearm to its last lawful owner.

Registered Firearms

Firearms Registered as of March 2010

Province/Territory	Non-restricted firearms	Restricted firearms	Prohibited firearms	Total
Alberta	854,988	81,998	24,447	961,433
British Columbia	792,617	88,248	28,465	909,330
Manitoba	328,543	16,864	6,290	351,697
New Brunswick	265,812	11,235	5,441	282,488
Newfoundland and Labrador	192,125	3,605	1,591	197,321
Nova Scotia	284,613	15,568	7,514	307,695
Northwest Territories	18,005	1,046	333	19,384
Nunavut	11,051	147	38	11,236
Ontario	2,045,890	172,780	86,209	2,304,879
Prince Edward Island	21,558	1,576	790	23,924
Quebec	1,564,957	54,940	33,896	1,653,793
Saskatchewan	387,851	24,268	8,465	420,584
Yukon	22,373	1,644	397	24,414
Other	24,221	523	111	24,855
Grand Total	6,814,604	474,442	203,987	7,493,033

Firearm Transfers

A firearm must be legally transferred whenever it is sold, traded or given to someone else. The registration information must be updated to indicate the new owner, if he or she lives in Canada. This process is referred to as a “transfer” under the Firearms Act.

Firearm Transfers by Transfer Method

NOTE: EFAST is a legacy system that is being phased out

Quarter	Telephone	Internet	Paper	EFAST	Total
2007 Q 2	76,454	53,215	4	0	129,673
2007 Q 3	73,318	61,956	0	7	135,281
2007 Q 4	75,156	61,683	0	0	136,839
2008 Q 1	62,086	51,358	1	0	113,445
2008 Q 2	72,632	84,757	0	81	157,470
2008 Q 3	73,853	102,321	0	0	176,174
2008 Q 4	89,997	82,739	0	0	172,736
2009 Q 1	77,943	67,041	0	0	144,984
2009 Q 2	78,766	87,345	0	0	166,111
2009 Q 3	80,124	91,126	0	0	171,250
2009 Q 4	91,155	84,112	2	8	175,277
2010 Q 1	70,017	74,602	2	0	144,621

Firearm Transfers Processed within Service Standard (30 days)

Quarter	Percentage within Standard
2007 Q 2	96.7%
2007 Q 3	97.2%
2007 Q 4	96.7%
2008 Q 1	94.8%
2008 Q 2	95.2%
2008 Q 3	97.5%
2008 Q 4	96.7%
2009 Q 1	96.5%
2009 Q 2	97.4%
2009 Q 3	97.7%
2009 Q 4	96.7%
2010 Q 1	97.3%

Note: this figure refers to the mailing of a hard copy Registration certificate to the transferee. The transfer transaction is typically updated in CFIS within a few hours, and the transferee can legally take possession of the firearms at that point.

Other CFP Performance Information

CFRO Queries

The Canadian Firearms Registry On-line (CFRO) is a subset of the Canadian Firearms Information System (CFIS). The system is available to Canadian police agencies via the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system to assist them when responding to calls and conducting investigations. As a searchable application, police officers may query the name, address and firearms licence number of an individual, or firearm-related information such as the serial number or registration certificate number of a firearm. CFRO provides police with real-time access to the information they require in their investigative and operational activities.

Average Daily Queries to the CFRO

Type	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Individual Name	1,561	1,820	2,397	4,001	4,262	6,435	7,653	9,639
Address	27	42	1,434	2,268	2,364	2,574	2,842	3,009
Serial#	128	130	143	187	176	203	316	325
Licence#	47	57	74	89	121	140	185	207
Certificate#	20	13	14	15	16	19	19	18
Telephone#	7	9	12	11	14	15	20	40
Other	23	16	17	21	21	22	50	82
Total	1,813	2,087	4,091	6,591	6,973	9,408	11,086	13,320

The total may not match the sum of the components due to rounding

Total CFRO Queries by Quarter

Quarter	All Query Types
2007 Q 2	574,187
2007 Q 3	703,648
2007 Q 4	761,414
2008 Q 1	786,464
2008 Q 2	891,157
2008 Q 3	904,637
2008 Q 4	859,184
2009 Q 1	884,649
2009 Q 2	981,407
2009 Q 3	1,088,335
2009 Q 4	1,088,621
2010 Q 1	1,145,334

NOTE: The numbers from previous quarters have increased between this report and last, due to new data becoming available.

Telephone Enquiries

The Canadian Firearms Program operates a call centre located within its central processing site. This centre answers calls from the general public and licence holders relating to firearms licensing and registration.

Telephone Calls Received at the CFP's Call Centre.

Year	Average Wait Time (seconds)	Total Number of Calls Received	Number of Calls Answered within 3 Minutes
2004	116	501,603	379,331
2005	113	839,674	629,746
2006	159	1,132,071	740,548
2007	327	1,065,592	358,673
2008	125	975,945	690,585
2009	115	878,608	634,417
2010	73	141,233	117,900