The Ministry of Public Safety used a Powassan gun club as the location to announce legislation that will mean less red tape, but make safety courses mandatory for first-time gun owners.
Steven Blaney, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, at a news conference told Rock Cut gun club members that the government intends to table the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act, which will:
- Merge the Possession Only License (POL) and the Possession and Acquisition License (PAL);
- Restrict the ability of Chief Firearms Officers to make arbitrary decisions;
- Create a grace period at the end of the five-year licence to stop people from immediately becoming criminalized for paperwork errors;
- End needless paperwork around Authorizations to Transport by making them a condition of a license;
- Require mandatory firearms safety courses for first-time gun owners; and
- Strengthen firearms prohibitions for those who are convicted of domestic violence offences.
Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Jay Aspin, who convinced Blaney to make the announcement in Powassan told BayToday that he thinks the reforms are a positive step.
"It's clear that the gun enthusiasts and farmers are law abiding citizens and they don't need an over abundance of red tape and duplication. This is moving towards eliminating all that stuff while maintaining safety.'
Blaney agrees.
“These measures would streamline licensing and eliminate needless red tape for law-abiding gun owners. It would also take steps to ensure that those convicted of domestic violence offences can be banned from owning firearms. My foremost priority is keeping the public safe, through common sense policies.”
The government plans to table the proposed legislation in the fall.
