Half of guns unregistered as deadline approaches Millions of Canadian
firearms owners ‘just refusing to participate’ in new law
JILL MAHONEY
Tuesday, December 12, 2000
EDMONTON — As many as half Canada’s gun owners could be in violation of
federal law on Jan. 1, the deadline for obtaining firearms licences.

So far, 1.7 million people have enrolled with the federal government’s gun
registry. The exact number of Canadians possessing firearms is unknown but
estimates range from fewer than 3.3 million to as many as nine million.

In any case, it appears that far more people own guns than are participating
in the registry under the controversial legislation, still often referred to
by its legislative name, Bill C-68.

“They’ve got a heck of a mess on their hands,” Jim Hinter, president of the
National Firearms Association, said. “I think it proves that there’s
literally millions of Canadians who are just refusing to participate in what
they see as a bogus law.”

As of Jan. 1, gun owners without licences cannot buy ammunition. Penalties
for someone found possessing a firearm without the proper paperwork range
from temporary seizure of the weapon to five years in prison.

The application of the law promises to be uneven. Police forces across the
country are responsible for enforcing it, but are deeply divided in their
support. Provincial Crown attorneys are charged with prosecuting alleged
offenders, but Alberta and some other provinces want federal Crowns to handle
prosecutions.

>From its inception, the Firearms Act has faced heavy opposition.

A group of provincial and territorial governments, led by Alberta and
supported by gun organizations, challenged the law all the way to the Supreme
Court, but failed in June when that court ruled the legislation
constitutional.

The licensing and registration program has cost $327-million, since the law’s
passage in 1995, to April 1, 2000. The law, still often referred to by its
legislative name, Bill C-68, requires that all owners of long guns (rifles
and shotguns that had been previously exempt) obtain possession licences by
Dec. 31, 2000, or after their existing firearms acquisition certificates
expire. Then, by Dec. 31, 2002, people must register each of their guns, a
provision that is even more controversial than licensing.

The government has run an extensive advertising campaign. It plans large ads
in newspapers in major cities this weekend reminding people they must get
their licences, which are selling for a reduced rate of $10 to encourage
compliance. In recent months, it has set up booths in malls to help people
with their applications.

The issue of how many Canadians own guns is itself controversial. The
National Firearms Association contends the number is between seven million
and nine million, or nearly one person in three. The federal government
commissioned public-opinion surveys three years ago that concluded there were
3.3 million gun-owning Canadians.

Now, however, Ottawa is backing away from that number, saying that many
people have either sold their firearms or given them away because of the
approaching deadline.

Pressed to estimate the number of gun owners, David Austin, a spokesman for
the government’s Canadian Firearms Centre, could not provide a ballpark
figure, saying 3.3 million is “probably high, but I can’t tell you really now
how high.”

Mr. Hinter of the firearms association said it is in the government’s
interest to low-ball gun ownership figures so that the rate of compliance
with the law looks higher than it really is.

“The government is going to keep lowering the estimate of the number of gun
owners until they can declare success with Step 1 of the law, run around and
claim victory,” he said.

Mr. Austin rejects that argument and says the vast majority of Canadians are
enrolling. “I think you’re going to find that Canadians generally are
compliant; they know it’s the law of the land,” he said.

He also said a great many applications are likely in the mail and more are to
come as owners scramble to meet the Dec. 31 deadline. Because of the deluge,
staff working 24 hours a day are issuing temporary licences that are valid
for up to six months and will be replaced by proper documentation in the new
year.

Owners of gun stores say some clients are intending to flout the law. “Lots
of customers say, ‘To hell with it’,” said Wolf Gronau, who operates a gun
shop in Edmonton.

Mr. Gronau, who has a firearms acquisition certificate that is valid for
another three years, saving him from having to apply for a licence under the
new law until his current one expires, said the legislation will result in
the spread of the black market for firearms.

Along with buying guns illegally, Mr. Gronau said, people will purchase their
ammunition under the table because the law requires a licence to buy bullets.
He added that he has seen at least a 50-per-cent jump in sales of ammunition
this fall by his customers and the extra materials may end up on the black
market in the new year.

Although opinion polls have shown that most Canadians support gun control,
Bill C-68 has been intensely criticized by gun groups and by provincial and
territorial governments. Some argue that those responsible for violent crime
will not obtain licences and that the law violates people’s fundamental
personal and property rights.

One gun group urged its members to thumb their noses at the law by refusing
to obtain licences. Other organizations recommended that people overwhelm the
phone lines, fax machines and mailbags at the government’s processing centres.

This fall, the Canadian Police Association, which represents the country’s
rank-and-file officers and is deeply divided over the legislation, postponed
the question of supporting the law until next year.