Larry Miller, MP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, is pleased with a recent announcement by the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, wherein the Minister announced the coming into force of two provisions under the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act.
Effective September 2nd, 2015, the following changes to the Firearms Act will come into force:
- The elimination of the Possession Only Licence (POL) and conversion of all existing POLs to Possession and Acquisition Licenses (PALs);
- The Authorization to Transport (ATT) becoming a condition of licence for certain routine and lawful activities.
The elimination of the POL and conversion of all existing POLs to PALs will simplify the firearms licensing regime by eliminating one type of licence for adults. Specifically, it will provide the roughly 530,000 holders of POLs with acquisition privileges, formerly reserved for PAL holders. This means that POL holders will be authorized to acquire the types of firearms that they are currently authorized to possess. The conversion of existing POLs to PALs will happen automatically with no action required by holders of valid POLS.
Furthermore, firearms owners currently must apply to a Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) when they wish to transport restricted and prohibited firearms, and carry the ATT as a separate document. The changes to the ATT provision mean that an ATT will be automatically attached as a condition on a licence. Therefore, licence holders will no longer have to apply separately in order to transport firearms to certain routine activities such as target shooting, taking a firearm home after a transfer, going to a gunsmith, gun show etc.
"The merging of the POL and the PAL as well as the ATT becoming a condition of licence for routine transfers are very common sense and much needed reforms to the firearms licensing system in Canada," said Miller. "These provisions are widely supported by law-abiding gun owners and sportsmens associations in Bruce and Grey counties. I am very pleased that these provisions will soon be coming into force."
For more information on firearms licensing in Canada please visit; http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/index-eng.html