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Bill C-68

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Transitional

(3) Every person who, at any particular time between the commencement day and the later of January 1, 1998 and such other date as is prescribed, possesses a firearm that, as of that particular time, is neither a prohibited firearm nor a restricted firearm is deemed for the purposes of subsection (1) to be, until January 1, 2003 or such other earlier date as is prescribed, the holder of a registration certificate for the firearm.

Onus on the defendant

(4) Where, in any proceedings for an offence under this section, any question arises as to whether a person is the holder of a registration certificate, the onus is on the defendant to prove that the person is the holder of the registration certificate.

Non-complian ce with demand to produce firearm

113. Every person commits an offence who, without reasonable excuse, does not comply with a demand made to the person by an inspector under section 105.

Failure to deliver up revoked licence, etc.

114. Every person commits an offence who, being the holder of a licence, registration certificate or authorization that is revoked, does not deliver it up to a peace officer or firearms officer without delay after the revocation.

Punishment

115. Every person who commits an offence under section 112, 113 or 114 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Attorney General of Canada may act

116. Any proceedings in respect of an offence under this Act may be commenced at the instance of the Government of Canada and conducted by or on behalf of that government.

REGULATIONS

Regulations

117. The Governor in Council may make regulations

    (a) regulating the issuance of licences, registration certificates and authorizations, including regulations respecting the purposes for which they may be issued under any provision of this Act and prescribing the circumstances in which persons are or are not eligible to hold licences;

    (b) regulating the revocation of licences, registration certificates and authorizations;

    (c) prescribing the circumstances in which an individual does or does not need firearms

      (i) to protect the life of that individual or of other individuals, or

      (ii) for use in connection with his or her lawful profession or occupation;

    (d) regulating the use of firearms in target practice or target shooting competitions;

    (e) regulating

      (i) the establishment and operation of shooting clubs and shooting ranges,

      (ii) the activities that may be carried on at shooting clubs and shooting ranges,

      (iii) the possession and use of firearms at shooting clubs and shooting ranges, and

      (iv) the keeping and destruction of records in relation to shooting clubs and shooting ranges and members of those clubs and ranges;

    (f) regulating the establishment and maintenance of gun collections and the acquisition and disposal or disposition of firearms that form part or are to form part of a gun collection;

    (g) regulating the operation of gun shows, the activities that may be carried on at gun shows and the possession and use of firearms at gun shows;

    (h) regulating the storage, handling, transportation, shipping, display, advertising and mail-order sale of firearms and restricted weapons and defining the expression ``mail-order sale'' for the purposes of this Act;

    (i) regulating the storage, handling, transportation, shipping, possession for a prescribed purpose, transfer, exportation or importation of

      (i) prohibited firearms, prohibited weapons, restricted weapons, prohibited devices and prohibited ammunition, or

      (ii) components or parts of prohibited firearms, prohibited weapons, restricted weapons, prohibited devices and prohibited ammunition;

    (j) regulating the possession and use of restricted weapons;

    (k) for authorizing

      (i) the possession at any place,

      (ii) the manufacture or transfer, whether or not for consideration, or offer to manufacture or transfer, whether or not for consideration, or

      (iii) the importation or exportation

    of firearms, prohibited weapons, restricted weapons, prohibited devices, ammunition, prohibited ammunition and components and parts designed exclusively for use in the manufacture of or assembly into automatic firearms;

    (l) regulating the storage, handling, transportation, shipping, acquisition, possession, transfer, exportation, importation, use and disposal or disposition of firearms, prohibited weapons, restricted weapons, prohibited devices, prohibited ammunition and explosive substances

      (i) by the following persons in the course of their duties or for the purposes of their employment, namely,

        (A) peace officers,

        (B) persons training to become police officers or peace officers under the control and supervision of a police force or a police academy or similar institution designated by the federal Minister or the lieutenant governor in council of a province,

        (C) persons or members of a class of persons employed in the public service of Canada or by the government of a province or municipality who are prescribed by the regulations made by the Governor in Council under Part III of the Criminal Code to be public officers, and

        (D) chief firearms officers and firearms officers, and

      (ii) by individuals on behalf of, and under the authority of, a police force or a department of the Government of Canada or of a province;

    (m) regulating the keeping and destruction of records in relation to firearms, prohibited weapons, restricted weapons, prohibited devices and prohibited ammunition;

    (n) regulating the keeping and destruction of records by businesses in relation to ammunition;

    (o) creating offences consisting of contraventions of the regulations made under paragraph (d), (e), (f), (g), (i), (j), (l), (m) or (n);

    (p) prescribing the fees that are to be paid to Her Majesty in right of Canada for licences, registration certificates, authorizations, approvals of transfers and importations of firearms and confirmations by customs officers of documents under this Act;

    (q) waiving or reducing the fees payable under paragraph (p) in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations;

    (r) prescribing the charges that are to be paid to Her Majesty in right of Canada in respect of costs incurred by Her Majesty in right of Canada in storing goods that are detained by customs officers or in disposing of goods;

    (s) respecting the operation of the Canadian Firearms Registry;

    (t) regulating the sending or issuance of notices and documents in electronic or other form, including

      (i) the notices and documents that may be sent or issued in electronic or other form,

      (ii) the persons or classes of persons by whom they may be sent or issued,

      (iii) their signature in electronic or other form or their execution, adoption or authorization in a manner that pursuant to the regulations is to have the same effect for the purposes of this Act as their signature, and

      (iv) the time and date when they are deemed to be received;

    (u) respecting the manner in which any provision of this Act or the regulations applies to any of the aboriginal peoples of Canada, and adapting any such provision for the purposes of that application;

    (v) repealing

      (i) section 4 of the Cartridge Magazine Control Regulations, made by Order in Council P.C. 1992-1660 of July 16, 1992 and registered as SOR/92-460, and the heading before it,

      (ii) the Designated Areas Firearms Order, C.R.C., chapter 430,

      (iii) section 4 of the Firearms Acquisition Certificate Regulations, made by Order in Council P.C. 1992-1663 of July 16, 1992 and registered as SOR/92-461, and the heading before it,

      (iv) section 7 of the Genuine Gun Collector Regulations, made by Order in Council P.C. 1992-1661 of July 16, 1992 and registered as SOR/92-435, and the heading before it,

      (v) sections 8 and 13 of the Prohibited Weapons Control Regulations, made by Order in Council P.C. 1991-1925 of October 3, 1991 and registered as SOR/91-572, and the headings before them,

      (vi) the Restricted Weapon Registration Certificate for Classes of Persons other than Individuals Regulations, made by Order in Council P.C. 1993-766 of April 20, 1993 and registered as SOR/93-200, and

      (vii) sections 7, 15 and 17 of the Restricted Weapons and Firearms Control Regulations, made by Order in Council P.C. 1978-2572 of August 16, 1978 and registered as SOR/78-670, and the headings before them; and

    (w) prescribing anything that by any provision of this Act is to be prescribed by regulation.

Laying of proposed regulations

118. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the federal Minister shall have each proposed regulation laid before each House of Parliament.

Idem

(2) Where a proposed regulation is laid pursuant to subsection (1), it shall be laid before each House of Parliament on the same day.

Report by committee

(3) Each proposed regulation that is laid before a House of Parliament shall, on the day it is laid, be referred by that House to an appropriate committee of that House, as determined by the rules of that House, and the committee may conduct inquiries or public hearings with respect to the proposed regulation and report its findings to that House.

Making of regulations

(4) A proposed regulation that has been laid pursuant to subsection (1) may be made

    (a) on the expiration of thirty sitting days after it was laid; or

    (b) where, with respect to each House of Parliament,

      (i) the committee reports to the House, or

      (ii) the committee decides not to conduct inquiries or public hearings.

Definition of ``sitting day''

(5) For the purpose of this section, ``sitting day'' means a day on which either House of Parliament sits.

Exception

119. (1) No proposed regulation that has been laid pursuant to section 118 need again be laid under that section, whether or not it has been altered.

Exception - minor changes

(2) A regulation made under section 117 may be made without being laid before either House of Parliament if the federal Minister is of the opinion that the changes made by the regulation to an existing regulation are so immaterial or insubstantial that section 118 should not be applicable in the circumstances.

Exception - urgency

(3) A regulation made under paragraph 117(i), (l), (m), (n), (o), (q), (s) or (t) may be made without being laid before either House of Parliament if the federal Minister is of the opinion that the making of the regulation is so urgent that section 118 should not be applicable in the circumstances.

Notice of opinion

(4) Where the federal Minister forms the opinion described in subsection (2) or (3), he or she shall have a statement of the reasons why he or she formed that opinion laid before each House of Parliament.

Exception - prescribed dates

(5) A regulation may be made under paragraph 117(w) prescribing a date for the purposes of the application of any provision of this Act without being laid before either House of Parliament.

Part III of the Criminal Code

(6) For greater certainty, a regulation may be made under Part III of the Criminal Code without being laid before either House of Parliament.