Larry Miller, Member of Parliament for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, is pleased to see that section 14 of Bill C-42 – Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act, which will establish a six-month grace period for firearms licence holders that inadvertently fail to renew their licence on time, will come into force on November 30th, 2017.

Bill C-42 was enacted by the previous Conservative Government and received Royal Assent on June 18th, 2015. The bill made a number of common sense changes to Canada's firearms licensing system including the provision that a firearms licence that is not renewed before the five-year expiry period is automatically extended for an additional six months. This provision could not be enacted immediately in 2015 as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) required additional time to make changes to their internal systems to prepare for the change. All changes have been implemented and the RCMP will be prepared for the grace period as of November 30th, 2017.

It is important to note that licences that expire before November 30th, 2017 will not receive the grace period extension. Furthermore, during the grace period, a firearm owner will not be able to use his or her firearms or acquire ammunition or other firearms until the licence is renewed. The provision does protect the firearms owner from being in criminal possession of their firearms, prevents the loss of grandfathering rights, and provides reasonable reminders to renew in a timely manner. The process for renewal remains the same for renewals that are on time and for those during the grace period.

"I am very pleased to see that the grace period that was agreed to as part of Bill C-42 will finally be coming into force," said Miller. "This is a common sense measure brought in by the previous Government to ensure that firearms owners are not treated like criminals for simple administrative issues. Unfortunately, just recently in the House of Commons, the current Government rejected a bill that would have gone even further by essentially extending licence renewals to 10 years rather than 5.
This would have brought firearms licensing more in line with other government documents like passports."

For more information on Bill C-42 please visit: https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=E&billId=6714626.

source: media release, MP Larry Miller