Hunters and competitive shooters visiting Quebec will not have to register their firearms.
“The Firearms Registration Act, which came into effect in Quebec on Jan. 29, provides that a firearm under provincial law does not need to be registered if its owner does not have a residence in Quebec, and that the weapon is present in the territory of Quebec for a period of 45 days or less,” said Louise Quintin of the public security ministry. “Beyond this period, an application for registration must be made in the manner prescribed by law and its regulations.” There’s no cost for registering a firearm.
Quebec’s revival of a provincial registry will open debate if other provinces follow suit.
“It’s up to each province if they choose to follow Quebec’s lead,” said Greg Farrant, manager of government affairs and policy for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH). “The Ontario government has repeatedly said it has no interest in a registry, as has the federal government.”
Farrant said Quebec will have logistical challenges in getting all gun owners in line and playing catch-up as far as gun sales, since the federal registry was ended by the former Conservative government in 2012.
Quebec’s new gun registry flies in the face of two Supreme Court of Canada decisions. The first decision, in connection with the original long-gun registry, in 2000, was in the wake of a challenge by Alberta not to participate. The court ruled then that the registry was a federal jurisdiction. The second decision, in 2015, ruled it was constitutional for the federal government to destroy the data from the federal registry. Yet, the federal Liberals passed a bill last year directing the data be given to the Quebec government.
“What we are puzzled about is why the federal government is handing over records to Quebec that were supposed to be destroyed,” Farrant said.
Originally published in the Ontario OUT of DOORS 2018 Fishing Annual
