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Read moreSep 8, 2022
Regulations
Bill C-71 and Changes to your ATT
Bill C-71 was first introduced on March 20 2018 in the House of Commons as an Act to amend certain Acts and regulations in relation to firearms. We briefly touched on Bill C-71 when discussing Bill C-21 in the Silvercore Podcast, episode 42, we also wrote an article on key points of these bills and what they mean for firearms owners. However, since then there have been more changes; the most recent one which affects many law abiding firearms owners is the Long Term Authorization to Transport, or ATT.
Let’s go back for a moment; On June 18 2015, the Canadian Conservative Government passed Bill C-42, the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act, which changed the Authorization to Transport, ATT. This came into force in 2017 and made it so that the ATT became a condition of a licence for certain routine and lawful transportation activities. This included the following:
- Going to and from all shooting clubs and shooting ranges that are approved under section 29;
- Going to and from any place a peace officer, firearms officer or chief firearms officer is located, for verification, registration or disposal in accordance with this Act or Part III of the Criminal Code;
- Going to and from a business that holds a licence authorizing it to repair or appraise prohibited firearms or restricted firearms;
- Going to and from a gun show; and
- Going to a port of exit in order to take them outside Canada, and from a port of entry.
These changes were implemented to streamline the process of acquiring new paper copies of the ATT every time a firearms owner wished to transport their restricted firearms and was certainly a common sense move as the Act itself was titled. Fast forward to present day, the Canadian Liberal Government has amended this Act with Bill C-71 which would reverse nearly all these authorizations, except for two.
Effective July 7 2021, the only two transportation provisions that remain as a condition of a licence include going to or from a range, or home after a purchase.
Individuals will now need to request an Authorization to Transport from their CFO to transport restricted and prohibited firearms to and from a:
- business for repair or appraisal
- gun show
- port of entry or exit
- peace officer, firearms officer or CFO for verification, registration or disposal
This is a massive change for firearms owners who have been legally transporting their firearms with automatically issued ATT’s for the last 4 years, but this isn’t the only change that has come into force will Bill C-71. Expanded background checks that will now go back over an applicants entire lifetime, rather than just 5 years has also come into force.
These are two of several changes that are promised in the Liberal news release in June of 2021:
Government of Canada delivers on plan to build safer communities and reduce firearms violence
This outlines the amendments the Government is looking to implement. In it, they also list enhanced licence verification which would require individuals or businesses that sell or transfer a non-restricted firearms to confirm with the RCMP CFP that the buyer/transferee has a valid firearms licence. Increased retail record keeping is also mentioned and would consist of firearms businesses retaining inventory and sales records related to non-restricted firearms to help support tracing of crime guns during criminal investigations.
If you are a Restricted or Prohibited firearms owner and are requiring proof of membership to a club or range for the purposes of your issued ATT, ensure you are properly covered by joining the Silvercore Club. The Silvercore Club is an excellent and cost effective choice which provides immediate access of proof of membership to an approved club which meets the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) issuance requirements of belonging to an approved gun club or range. You also benefit with various discounts from participating partners and retailers, and you receive North America wide Liability Insurance.
Quick Links Associated with this Article:
- Bill C-41, Common Sense Firearms Licencing Act
- Bill C-71 Legislative Summary
- RCMP summary of Bill C-71
- New release Government of Canada delivers on plan to build safer communities and reduce firearms violence
Other Pertinent or Related Content:
Articles:
- Bill C-21 and the Municipal Handgun Ban
- Federal Firearms Buy-Back Estimated Cost Report
- Court Expert's Affidavit on the OIC Firearms Prohibition Challenges the RCMP "Prohibition Planner"
- What are Your Options if Your Firearm has been Prohibited and Slated to be Seized
- What You Need to Know about the Government of Canada's New Prohibition on Certain Firearms and Devices
- The Complete Ban List of Newly Prohibited Firearms in Canada as of May 1 2020
- Engagement Summary Report - Reducing Violent Crime: A Dialogue on Handguns and Assault-Style Firearms
