Facts and Figures (October - December 2012)

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 December 2012

Province/Territory	Possession Licence	Possession and Acquisition Licence	Minor Licence	Total
Alberta	58,622	179,811	1,494	239,927
British Columbia	71,730	164,656	488	236,874
Manitoba	25,761	57,846	386	83,993
New Brunswick	38,290	34,453	152	72,895
Newfoundland and Labrador	26,175	47,382	231	73,788
Northwest Territories	496	4,572	30	5,098
Nova Scotia	38,485	35,644	1,074	75,203
Nunavut	43	2,929	3	2,975
Ontario	184,538	352,014	4,159	540,711
Prince Edward Island	3,110	3,281	19	6,410
Quebec	163,305	335,257	18	498,580
Saskatchewan	29,254	65,716	138	95,108
Yukon	1,008	5,470	40	6,518
Total	640,817	1,289,031	8,232	1,938,080

Licences per 100,000 population

Province/Territory	Licences per 100,000 Population*
Alberta	6,582
British Columbia	5,383
Manitoba	6,952
New Brunswick	9,704
Newfoundland and Labrador	14,341
Northwest Territories	12,296
Nova Scotia	8,159
Nunavut	9,324
Ontario	4,207
Prince Edward Island	4,572
Quebec	6,309
Saskatchewan	9,204
Yukon	19,229
Total	5,789

* Licences per 100,000 population are calculated using Provincial/Territorial populations from 2011 Census

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Number of Licences Issued (including renewals) in the October - December 2012 Period

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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	25,137	182	1,744	20	119
1999	215	4,590	43,911	1,120	6,501
2000	5,400	9,634	81,294	2,313	12,101
2001	1,471	6,212	57,090	1,685	9,048
2002	3,052	5,239	49,731	1,743	10,060
2003	710	4,176	37,650	1,347	7,844
2004	469	3,900	36,281	1,252	8,205
2005	759	4,277	40,769	1,446	9,028
2006	1,565	4,970	47,558	1,747	10,400
2007	911	5,561	55,731	2,120	13,309
2008	448	6,700	66,108	2,558	17,094
2009	231	7,073	68,457	2,959	20,330
2010	178	6,796	69,090	2,878	20,998
2011	125	7,019	72,902	3,108	24,122
2012	272	6,507	70,575	3,272	26,916
Total	40,943	82,836	798,891	29,568	196,075

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

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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
2007	438
2008	461
2009	514
2010	571
2011	520
2012	670

Licence Revocations by Year

Year	Licences Revoked
2007	1,749
2008	1,834
2009	2,076
2010	2,223
2011	2,364
2012	2,424

Firearms Registration

The registration of restricted and prohibited firearms links these firearms and their licensed owners, thereby enhancing owners’ accountability for safe storage and use of these 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 restricted or prohibited firearm to its last lawful owner.

Restricted and Prohibited Firearms Registered as of December 2012

Province/Territory	Restricted firearms	Prohibited firearms	Total Firearms
Alberta	112,409	24,267	136,676
British Columbia	109,198	26,517	135,715
Manitoba	20,767	5,756	26,523
New Brunswick	12,716	4,855	17,571
Newfoundland and Labrador	4,746	1,499	6,245
Northwest Territories	1,107	309	1,416
Nova Scotia	17,192	6,978	24,170
Nunavut	238	37	275
Ontario	202,328	79,664	281,992
Prince Edward Island	1,850	761	2,611
Quebec	60,794	31,729	92,523
Saskatchewan	30,897	7,968	38,865
Yukon	2,041	396	2,437
Total	576,283	190,736	767,019

Restricted and prohibited firearms per 100,000 Population *

Province/Territory	Restricted and prohibited firearms per 100,000 Population *
Alberta	3,749
British Columbia	3,084
Manitoba	2,195
New Brunswick	2,339
Newfoundland and Labrador	1,214
Northwest Territories	3,415
Nova Scotia	2,622
Nunavut	862
Ontario	2,194
Prince Edward Island	1,862
Quebec	1,171
Saskatchewan	3,761
Yukon	7,189
Total	2,291

*Restricted and prohibited firearms per 100,000 population are calculated using Provincial/Territorial populations from 2011 Census.

*Firearms per 100,000 population are calculated using Provincial/Territorial populations from 2011 Census

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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
2010 Q 1	70,017	74,602	2	0	144,621
2010 Q 2	76,672	108,379	0	0	185,051
2010 Q 3	86,845	117,713	1	6	204,565
2010 Q 4	86,448	107,692	0	0	194,140
2011 Q 1	81,237	90,692	0	0	171,929
2011 Q 2	76,867	124,192	0	10	201,069
2011 Q 3	76,002	142,516	0	0	218,518
2011 Q 4	73,516	142,417	0	0	215,933
2012 Q 1	61,422	126,202	2	0	187,626
2012 Q 2	27,261	49,631	2	0	76,894
2012 Q 3	27,246	37,953	0	0	65,199
2012 Q 4	29,135	33,355	0	2	62,492

The statistics listed for 2012 Q2 (April – June) and thereafter do not include transfers of non-restricted firearms outside Quebec after April 5, 2012.

Firearm Transfers Processed within Service Standard (30 days)

Quarter	Percentage within Standard
2010 Q 1	97.3%
2010 Q 2	97.8%
2010 Q 3	97.3%
2010 Q 4	96.2%
2011 Q 1	97.0%
2011 Q 2	96.5%
2011 Q 3	98.2%
2011 Q 4	98.0%
2012 Q 1	97.6%
2012 Q 2	95.5%
2012 Q 3	95.5%
2012 Q 4	94.1%

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.

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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 restricted or prohibited 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 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Individual Name 2,404 4,057 4,395 6,631 7,910 10,895 13,067 13,433 Address 1,435 2,268 2,364 2,574 2,843 3,176 4,012 4,251 Serial# 144 189 177 204 317 308 358 263 Licence# 75 90 122 142 186 209 218 138 Certificate# 14 15 16 19 19 16 12 8 Telephone# 12 11 14 15 20 40 33 31 Other 17 21 21 22 51 85 82 74 Total 4,101 6,650 7,109 9,606 11,347 14,729 17,782 18,197

Total CFRO Queries by Quarter

Quarter	All Query Types
2010 Q 1	1,232,024
2010 Q 2	1,370,550
2010 Q 3	1,401,814
2010 Q 4	1,370,436
2011 Q 1	1,418,727
2011 Q 2	1,694,927
2011 Q 3	1,781,442
2011 Q 4	1,593,996
2012 Q 1	1,601,550
2012 Q 2	1,705,988
2012 Q 3	1,774,833
2012 Q 4	1,540,858

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Total CFRO Queries by Province (October - December 2012)

Province/Territory	Query Count for 2012 Q4	Queries per 100,000 Population
Alberta	156,875	4,304
British Columbia	251,753	5,722
Manitoba	30,131	2,494
New Brunswick	50,661	6,744
Newfoundland and Labrador	24,436	4,749
Northwest Territories	2,726	6,575
Nova Scotia	19,675	2,135
Nunavut	617	1,934
Ontario	918,115	7,144
Prince Edward Island	2,081	1,484
Quebec	65,969	835
Saskatchewan	15,124	1,464
Yukon	2,695	7,951
Total	1,540,858	4,603

*Queries per 100,000 population are calculated using Provincial/Territorial populations from 2011 Census

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Telephone Enquiries

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

Telephone Calls Received at the CFP's Firearms Service Delivery centre

Year	Average Wait Time (seconds)
2007	326
2008	122
2009	108
2010	44
2011	51
2012	77