Dedication to Public Safety

Commissioner of Firearms - 2008 Report

• Safety Training
• Enhanced Screening Program
• Continuous-Eligibility Screening
• Licence Refusals and Revocations
• Firearms Prohibitions
• Disposal of Firearms
• Inspections
• Assisting and Informing the Public Through Outreach

Safety Training

Firearms education and safety training are fundamental components of the CFP.

The Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC) was developed in partnership with the provinces and territories as well as organizations with an ongoing interest in hunter education and firearms safety. It was implemented in 1994 by the Department of Justice to provide instruction on the safe handling, use, transportation and storage of both restricted and non-restricted firearms.

With the introduction of the Firearms Act in 1995, modifications to the firearms-safety training provided to firearms owners and users were required, and a separate firearms-safety training course with a focus on restricted firearms (including handguns) was developed. In 1999, both the revised CFSC and the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC) were introduced. The Act states that anyone wishing to acquire non-restricted firearms must pass the CFSC test, while anyone wishing to acquire restricted firearms must pass both the CFSC and the CRFSC tests.

Further updated in 2006 and again in 2008, the course material is available in English, French and with closed captioning.

The RCMP CFP is responsible for the continued development, implementation, evaluation and revision of national firearms-safety standards and the CFSC and CRFSC, while each province or territory is responsible for the delivery of the courses.

CHART 5: Firearms safety training (2002–2008)

Course	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Canadian Firearms Safety Course	49,720	37,633	36,156	40,455	46,934	71,525	71,961
Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course	10,060	7,834	8,199	9,028	10,329	15,101	17,560

Please note: The figures for Quebec were not available and are therefore not included

TABLE 7: Number of students (2008)

• CFSC Students - 71,961
• CRFSC Students - 17,560

Enhanced Screening Program

In 2008, the CFP implemented a more in-depth screening process for firearms licence applicants as a proactive effort to reduce firearms violence in Canada.

The CFP has developed methods of enhanced security screening for first-time restricted-firearms-licence applicants. They include interviewing the applicant and his or her references, as well as Internet screening of the applicant, as described earlier.

Continuous-Eligibility Screening

All current POL or PAL firearms licensees are recorded in the Canadian Firearms Information System (CFIS), which automatically checks with the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) every day to determine whether a licence holder has been the subject of an incident report in CPIC. All matches generate a report entitled Firearms Interest Police (FIP) that is automatically forwarded to the relevant CFO for follow-up. Some of these reports require no further action, but some prompt a review of the individual’s firearms licence and may result in its revocation, allowing police to seize the firearms. This continuous-eligibility screening reduces the likelihood that an individual who has been identified as a potential risk to public safety will be permitted to retain possession of firearms.

Table 8: Number of confirmed FIP events by province (2008)

Province/Territory	2008
Newfoundland and Labrador	2,314
Prince Edward Island	194
Nova Scotia	4,208
New Brunswick	3,458
Quebec	37,179
Ontario	20,750
Manitoba	5,566
Saskatchewan	3,161
Alberta	12,916
British Columbia	12,396
Yukon	268
Northwest Territories	241
Nunavut	190
Total	102,841

Licence Refusals and Revocations

When individuals apply for a firearms licence, they are subject to a variety of background checks. They are screened to identify potential risks to public safety based on the initial application, and they are continuous-eligibility screened throughout the life of the licence to identify any public-safety risks that may arise over time.

In 2008, 462 firearms licences were refused and 1,833 firearms licences were revoked. CFOs play a vital role in the process of authorizing individuals to acquire or retain a firearms licence. CFOs are authorized under the Firearms Act to refuse an application for a licence or revoke an issued firearms licence, based on their assessment of the individual’s risk to public safety. The reasons for the refusals vary, with the most frequent reason being the potential risk to others. The most common reason for licence revocation is court-ordered prohibition or probation.

Table 9: Firearms refusals and revocations (1999 - 2008)

Year	Refused	Revoked
2008	462	1,833
2007	440	1,748
2006	391	2,064
2005	345	2,286
2004	533	2,504
2003	1,099	2,227
2002	1,632	1,518
2001	1,886	639
2000	520	741
1999	217	452
Total	7,525	16,012

Table 10: Reasons for refusals and revocations* (2008)

Reasons	Refusals	%	Revocations	%
Court-ordered prohibition or probation	201	44%	1,366	75%
Potential risk to others	138	30%	276	15%
Potential risk to self	88	19%	211	12%
Mental health	40	9%	139	8%
Violent	47	10%	75	4%
Drug offences	25	5%	59	3%
Domestic violence	26	6%	56	3%
Unsafe firearm use and storage	22	5%	52	3%
Provided false information	63	14%	11	1%
Total	462	142%	1,833	124%

* Note: Because a refusal or revocation can be influenced by more than one factor, the total percentage for all categories of frequency may equal more than 100 percent.

Firearms refusals* (2008)

• Potential risk to self - 19%
• Mental health - 9%
• Violent - 10%
• Drug offences - 5%
• Domestic violence - 6%
• Unsafe firearms use and storage - 5%
• Provided false information - 14%
• Court-ordered prohibition or probation - 44%
• Potential risk to others - 30%

Firearms revocations* (2008)

• Potential risk to self, 12%
• Mental health, 8%
• Violent, 4%
• Drug offences, 3%
• Domestic violence, 3%
• Provided false information, 1%
• Court-ordered prohibition or probation, 75%
• Potential risk to others, 15%
• Unsafe firearms use and storage, 3%

* Note: Because a refusal or revocation can be influenced by more than one factor, the total percentage for all categories of frequency may equal more than 100 percent.

Firearms Prohibitions

The Firearms Act requires the courts to notify CFOs of all firearms prohibition orders in their jurisdictions. Firearms-licence applicants are screened and compared against prohibition and probation orders. If applicants are linked to any of these orders, they would be refused a firearms licence and issued a notice with the details of the court order.

If an individual in possession of a firearms licence is identified as being the subject of a prohibition or probation order, they would be instructed to turn in their licence and dispose of all registered firearms. Upon notification from the courts, the CFO would administratively revoke the individual’s licence.

The Registrar of Firearms would revoke registration certificates of registered firearms in these cases and provide instructions to the individual on how to dispose of firearms. The Registrar would also refuse any in-process application to register firearms and advise police regarding the revocation.

Firearm prohibition and probation orders are captured in the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) Persons File and form part of the background and continuous eligibility checks. In 2008, there were 254,036 individuals prohibited from possessing firearms.

The CFP also relies on information from municipal, provincial and federal courts in determining whether an individual is a potential threat to public safety. These court orders are typically civil in nature, and a match against them may result in the firearms officer conducting an investigation that could lead to a revocation or a change in licence conditions.

CHART 8: Firearms prohibitions (cumulative) (1999 - 2008)

• 1999 - 18,774
• 2000 - 22,834
• 2001 - 29,280
• 2002 - 32,670
• 2003 - 34,736
• 2004 - 34,140
• 2005 - 58,709
• 2006 - 176,206
• 2007 - 208,851
• 2008 - 254,036

Disposal of Firearms

The CFP closely monitors the disposal of registered firearms. The option of disposal may be chosen when an individual no longer wants the firearm, or it may be related to a licence revocation or refusal.

This monitoring contributes to public safety by assisting the CFP in understanding the movement of firearms, and this information on the disposal of firearms can be crucial during firearms crime investigations.

Inspections

CFOs are responsible for performing inspections and approving the licences of shooting clubs and ranges within their provincial jurisdictions. They do this to ensure the businesses are operating safely and complying with the Firearms Act. Also, they are authorized to inspect firearms businesses or individuals in possession of a large number of firearms to ensure safe storage and handling requirements are met, thereby contributing to community safety.

Assisting and Informing the Public Through Outreach

Outreach activities in 2008 continued to focus on improving public safety by increasing the public’s awareness of and compliance with the Firearms Act. These activities inform them about the many ways the CFP provides support to law enforcement agencies. With the inclusion of FSSD, there was also the opportunity to incorporate information about the variety of ways the CFP assists front-line police agencies in gathering evidence and investigating persons and organizations involved in the illegal movement and criminal use of firearms.

The CFP participated in or exhibited at a number of annual police association meetings and at a variety of hunting and outdoor shows across the country, providing communications materials and responding to requests for firearms information throughout the year from the public and from police agencies.

Outreach to Aboriginal communities in 2008 included a range of firearms-safety courses as well as linkages with high school curricula.

A variety of media -- radio announcements, newspaper and magazine articles, government publications -- was used to communicate with the public in an effort to reach as varied and wide an audience as possible regarding firearms safety, compliance with the firearms legislation and client-service initiatives.