FIREARMS AND WEAPONS OFFENCES
Firearms and weapons offences are governed by the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code of Canada. This area of the law is complicated and involves a confusing array of regulations and Criminal Code Offences.
Generally, a weapon is anything that is used, designed or intended to be used to cause injury to any person or for the purposes of threatening any person. A firearm is a barrelled weapon from which a projectile can be discharged and is capable of causing serious bodily injury and includes the frame or receiver of this kind of barrelled weapon and things that can be adapted for use as a firearm.
The effect of these two wide definitions means that almost anything, in certain circumstances, can be a weapon or firearm. This can includes firearms that are no longer operational but can be made operational or household appliances being considered weapons when used for nefarious purposes.
Offences in this category cover a wide range and include everything from possession of a concealed weapon, trafficking in firearms to improper storage and other licensing and registration offences. Moreover, there is a broad range of circumstances where charges are laid. Typical scenarios range from motor vehicle stops and searches to wiretaps investigations that may span months to regulatory compliance checks conducted on businesses.
Like the broad range of offences, sentences that can be imposed vary widely. Several firearm offences carry sentences in excess of ten years and can range up to life imprisonment. The Courts and Crown Prosecutors generally treat these offences very seriously. Parliament has indicated that it views these offences seriously as well by creating a whole host of new mandatory minimum punishments which may apply.
HOW ARE FIREARMS CLASSIFIED? WHAT SPECIAL REGULATIONS APPLY TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIREARMS?
Broadly speaking there are three general categories of firearms. First, non restricted firearms are firearms which do not require registration and are sometimes referred to simplistically as long guns. This class of firearms is the least restricted and are commonly thought of as ‘hunting guns’.
Restricted firearms are the next classification. They are highly restricted and require both a registration permit to acquire and pre-authorization to legally transport them. Storage of these weapons is also more restricted. Generally, restricted weapons are handguns as well as other weapons which have been added in eclectic fashion.
Finally, there are prohibited firearms. These are weapons which generally cannot be possessed or acquired in any fashion. There a few very limited exceptions. One of the most common exceptions is for individuals who are ‘12X’ authorized. ‘12X’ signifies section 12 of the Firearms Act which authorizes certain people who were authorized to have weapons at the time that legislation or regulation made certain kinds of weapons prohibited. People are said to have been ‘grandfathered in’ in these circumstances. Some examples of prohibited weapons include some handguns which have very short barrels or firearms which are capable of fully automatic fire.