From: reidld@ecf.toronto.edu (Lloyd D Reid)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: NAFTA and new Canadian Acquisition Laws
Date: 6 Jan 1994 19:18:34 -0500

In article <6JAN199409394691@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov>,
Stefan <smpod@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov> wrote:
#wagner@mala.bc.ca (TOM WAGNER, Wizzard of old Audio/Visual Equipment........Nanaimo Campus) writes...
## ...
##All individuals having a current FAC (firearms aquistion certificate) will
##have to pass an examination to renew (or to acquire for new issues) the FAC.
#
#I've heard that this will apply only to first time FAC acquisition.

It also applies to existing FAC holders, when they renew their FAC that
was obtained under the old system.


##...I have also
##heard that a course is available for about $400 plus...

I think $400 for the course is a bit of an exaggeration.  More like $75
to $100.  Lots of other discouraging fees though.  $50 application
fee for FAC.  You pay for photos to accompany application.  You pay
$10 (or is it $25) to write the safety exam.  You get the idea...

#It gets much worse.  They will question people who know you, eg, you
#neighbours, your ex-wife or girlfriend, teachers, etc.  They will ask if you've
#lost a job, become divorced or separated, had any psychiatric care, etc, in the
#last two years. In other words, gun owners will not enjoy the rights of privacy
#that others enjoy. 

A friend is applying for a first time FAC under the new system.  Talk about
intimidating.  A four page, legal size application for, in quadruplicate.
All these questions you mention, that they have no business asking.  A police
inspection of your residence, with no stated pass/fail criteria.

Allegedly there is a 28 day waiting period.  Well, after your 28 days have
elapsed, the police will _then_ schedule an interview/inspection at their
convenience.  Then there is further processing. etc, etc.  I'd say to
count on 4-6 months and $250 between deciding to buy an ordinary gun (rifle or
shotgun), and actually being legally able to buy one.  If you're interested
in a Restricted Weapon (handguns, "assault" rifles), it'll take longer.

The safety course itself is fatally flawed.  The procedure for loading
a gun, according to the new FAC safety course manual:

1) load the gun
2) check bore for obstructions...

Where else do you get a safety course that tells you to look down the muzzle
of a loaded gun?  As a result, at least one gun club has been told by
their insurance company that they will be _uninsurable_ if the teach the
federal government's official FAC safety course.  If they teach _NO_
safety course, the insurance company will insure them.  If they teach
_any_ safety course except the FAC one, the insurance company will
insure them.

I hope this post has enough 'information' on the status of Brave New Canada
to qualify for the kinder, gentler newsgroup.


an ashamed Canadian,

- Daniel
-- 
reidld@ecf.toronto.edu (Daniel Chisholm)

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Canadian Gun Laws (fwd)
Date: 29 May 1994 00:41:06 -0400

Again, forwarded for Jay who's having posting problems.

John
--------------------------------------------------------------
 From: emory!freenet.victoria.bc.ca!un111 (Jay Brown)
 To: jgd@dixie.com
 Subject: Canadian Gun Laws
 
     As a shooter and recent immigrant to Canada, I find the
gun laws here breathtakingly restrictive.  I suspect,
however, that U.S. lawmakers are working toward Canada's
lead in this area, so stay alert!
 
     I recently completed a $150, 18-hour instructional
course (8am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday) which gives me the
privilege of APPLYING to the federal government for a
Firearms Acquisition Certificate.  The FAC is good for 5
years, and then must be renewed, probably with another 18-
hour, $150 course.
     If and when I receive it, then, the FAC allows me to
purchase (or bring across the border) a Restricted or
Unrestricted firearm; but then another permit, the Permit to
Carry, is necessary before I am allowed to transport that
firearm to my home.  And a third permit, the Permit to
Transport, is necessary if the firearm is Restricted.
 
     There are three classes of firearms in Canada:
Prohibited, Restricted, and Unrestricted.
 
     Prohibited firearms are all fully automatic weapons or
those which can be easily modified to be fully automatic. 
Also all military sniper-type weapons and assault rifles
with a magazine capacity greater than five rounds.  Mace,
tear gas, Taser stun guns, pepper spray, brass knuckles,
switchblade knives, belt-buckle knives, and all oriental
self-defense weapons such as nunchuks, are also in the
prohibited class.  
     The only civilians allowed to own prohibited weapons
are bona-fide collectors who must have proven their
expertise, and also agreed to permit unannounced visits to
their collections by police authorities.
     A licensed collector can sell his/her prohibited
weapons only to another licensed collector, or else turn
them in to the police for destruction.  No new prohibited-
weapons collectors are being authorized.  Consequently, as
collectors pass away, their collections are concentrating in
fewer and fewer hands and, ultimately, when the last
collector dies, all of those weapons will be destroyed. 
It's the law.
 
     Then we come to Restricted, which includes ALL pistols. 
Even my replica .44 Colt black powder cap-and-ball?  Yes. 
ALL pistols, even flintlocks.  
     Also Restricted are the AK-47 and AR-15 rifle families
(even though with 5-round magazines).  Curiously, Ruger's
Mini-14 with full wooden stock and 5-round magazine is
Unrestricted.  And, semi-automatic pistols must have
magazine capacities no greater than ten rounds.  Larger-
than-legal-capacity magazines must be pinned to limit their
capacity.
     Also, the ONLY justification for owning a restricted
weapon (single-shot, revolver or semi-automatic) is for
competitive shooting.  Don't even MENTION self-defense as a
justification.  Call 9-1-1 for self-defense.  So, since the
pistol will be used only for competition, it stands to
reason that the pistol owner must be a member in good
standing of a pistol club.  No permit is available unless
you are.
     So the owner of a Restricted firearm, a pistol, say,
must have the FAC, a federal restricted firearms
registration certificate, and the permit to carry, which
allows him to carry his pistol ONLY from his home to the
range and back with no stops in between.  While being
transported the pistol must be unloaded and be disabled with
a trigger lock or something similar, be in a locked case,
and the case must be locked in the trunk of the car.  Triple
locking is the law.  
 
     At the owner's home the pistol must be stored in a
vault, or else be disabled with a trigger lock and stored in
a locked, secure room, with the ammunition stored
separately.
     Since the Permit to Carry is good only between one's
home and the range, what do you do if you want to take your
pistol to the gunsmith, say?  Then you must go to your local
police station and request a Permit to Transport.  This
permit, generally good for two hours and particularly
describing the weapon to be transported, allows you to carry
that pistol to the gunsmith.  When he finishes with it, you
go and get another Permit to Transport in order to bring the
pistol home again.
     Sanctions for those caught violating Canada's firearms
laws are Draconian -- ten-year jail sentences, for instance.
 
     Unrestricted firearms are long guns; rifles and
shotguns, neither of which can have a magazine capacity
larger than five rounds.  There is also a prohibited list
here, which includes the the Street-Sweeper shotgun and its
siblings and a long list of military-style rifles and
carbines.
     Necessary paperwork are (only!) the FAC and Permit to
Carry. Membership in a shooting club is not a requirement,
but, unless you own a lot of land, there's noplace else to
shoot.  The weapon must be transported unloaded and either
disassembled or locked, and out of sight in a locked
vehicle.  Carrying a rifle or shotgun in a pickup gun rack
is permitted only when the owner is physically in the
vehicle.
     Pellet guns with a muzzle velocity of over 500 fps are
considered firearms, so would be either Restricted or
Unrestricted, dependant on whether they're pistols or
rifles.  Somewhat curiously, .22 caliber rifles are not
restricted as to magazine capacity.  All .22 caliber
pistols, however, are Restricted, and can have no more than
a 10-round magazine capacity.
 
     Eighty percent of Canadian firearms deaths are
suicides, 15% accidents, and 5% homicides.
     Nonetheless, Canadian politicians are again vying to be
the loudest in calling for far more restrictive (!) firearms
regulations.  Look out America.

--
--       Jay Brown; un111@freenet.victoria.bc.ca   
            
   When you say something, make sure you have said it.  The
chances of your having said it are only fair. --  E.B. White.