Controversial firearms marking regulations will be delayed until next year, according to Regina firearms training group

According to a firearms safety training group in Regina, the highly controversial firearms marking regulations set to come into force next month have been delayed further until December 1, 2018.

Regina Gun Safety & Licensing, or RGSL, took to their blog today to break the news after they received an e-mail from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in response to seeking clarification on the regulations. In the post RGSL cited a representative of the Canadian Firearms Program, stated that they were “recently advised that the coming into force date for the Firearms Marking Regulations has been deferred to December 1, 2018″.

The regulations have drawn significant criticism for the increased costs associated with fulfilling its requirements. The Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association said in a September letter that the regulations will cause “catastrophic damage” to small business operations, and cost importers upwards of $100,000 to install laser-engraving machines to comply with the mark-on-import rules.

Many companies have cancelled numerous orders amid concerns that their shipments would arrive after the coming to force date, potentially leaving them with heavy fines or even criminal charges.

“Our message is resonating”

In a joint statement between Conservative Public Safety Critic, Hon. Tony Clement, and Conservative Deputy Public Safety Critic, Larry Miller, the pair applauded the deferral.

“Today is a good day for law abiding firearms owners. These regulations would not keep Canadians safer and would only serve to discourage people from participating in Canadian heritage activities like hunting and sport shooting,” said Clement in the statement on his website.

“By deferring the Coming into Force date until December 1, 2018 it is clear that our message is resonating. The Liberals must treat law abiding gun owners with fairness and respect.”

“While today is a good day, we must remember to keep up the pressure on the Liberal Government so that these regulations can be scrapped once and for all.”

Further information incoming

The Privy Council Office, who advises the Prime Minister and his cabinet members, provided fellow Canadian firearms blog, TheGunBlog.ca, a link to an Order in Council that is set to be published on May 31 – the day before the regulations were to take effect.

The precis, or summary, of the document reads “Regulations Amending the FIREARMS MARKING REGULATIONS to defer the coming into Force date of the Regulations in order to permit the Government of Canada to develop amendments to the Regulations so that they achieve their intended purpose of enabling the tracing of crime guns by law enforcement agencies.”

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Safety also indicated to TheGunBlog.ca that further information would become available tomorrow. The Canadian Firearms Blog has reached out to the Ministry for comment but have not yet heard back at the time of writing.

Update: The Office of the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has released the following statement:

The existing Firearms Marking Regulations under the Firearms Act, scheduled to come into force on June 1, 2017, are being deferred to December 1, 2018. The deferral will provide the time required to propose amendments to the Regulations in order to achieve their intended purpose, which is to help improve public safety by facilitating the ability of law enforcement to trace the criminal use of firearms.

Detailed information regarding the deferral will be available in the May 31, 2017 edition of the Canada Gazette Part II. For information regarding firearms requirements in Canada, please contact the Canadian Firearms Program at 1-800-731-4000

Delayed again, and again, and …

The regulations have seen a number of delays. They were last deferred in the summer of 2015 when the regulations were set to come into force in December of that year. They were delayed then to allow the government to make further consultations “with a broad range of stakeholders”, according to the delay’s notice issued by Public Safety Canada.

This announcement marks the eighth time the regulations have been delayed since they were first passed as Bill C-10A in late 2004. This is the first time the Trudeau government has delayed the regulations, breaking their election promise that they would “immediately implement the imported gun marking regulations that have been repeatedly delayed by Stephen Harper”, the previous Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

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