FIREARMS FACTS UPDATE
5,688,766
“UNVERIFIED” FIREARMS IN GUN REGISTRY
So much for the Police Association’s demands for accuracy!
NOVEMBER 3, 2005 – GARRY BREITKREUZ’S ATI REQUEST
TO CANADA FIREARMS CENTRE
For each province and territory, please provide copies of reports,
documents or correspondence that would show: (1) The total number of non-restricted,
restricted, and prohibited firearms registered in the Canadian Firearms
Registry; (2) The total number of these registered non-restricted, restricted,
and prohibited firearms that have been “verified” as accurate,
and of these (a) the number that have been verified in-person and; (b)
the number that have been verified over the phone or without the person
doing the verification actually seeing the firearm. CFC FILE: A-2005-0043
DECEMBER 9, 2005 – CANADA FIREARMS CENTRE RESPONSE
(1) The total number
of non-restricted, restricted, and prohibited firearms registered in the
Canadian Firearms Registry as of October 31, 2005:
TOTAL FIREARMS REGISTERED
| •
Non- Restricted: 6,541,951 • Prohibited: 220,797 • Restricted: 398,451 • Grand Total: 7,161,199 |
(2) Firearms verification
is a quality assurance process used by the Registrar of Firearms to ensure
that the description of a firearm submitted by an applicant and stored
in the Canadian Firearms Information System (CFIS) is complete and accurate,
thus allowing them to identify a firearm and its class precisely, for
registration purposes.
TOTAL FIREARMS VERIFIED
| •
Non- Restricted: 858,900 • Prohibited: 220,467 • Restricted: 393,066 • Grand Total: 1,472,433 |
(2)(a) FIREARMS
VERIFIED IN PERSON AND DEEMED VERIFIED
Firearms verified in person combine those that were verified under previous
legislation by local registrars and those verified in person under the
Firearms Act. The total number of firearms verified in person represents
those registered in CFIS and those registered in CFIS from the Restricted
Weapons Registration system (RWRS).
TOTAL FIREARMS VERIFIED IN PERSON
| •
Non- Restricted: 754,534 • Prohibited: 219,553 • Restricted: 389,641 • Grand Total: 1,363,728 |
(2)(b) FIREARMS VERFIED BY TELEPHONE
Restricted and Prohibited Firearms: The process for telephone
verification limits the verification of restricted and prohibited firearms
to exceptional cases only. It is reserved for instances where a regular
verifier has been unable to ascertain the description of the firearm to
match it to the Firearms reference Table (FRT). In this case the verifier
contacts a firearms technician at the Canada Firearms Registry who is
an expert in firearms and the FRT. The technician then asks questions
concerning the firearm to the verifier who has the firearm in his/her
possession. If verification is still not successful the technician may
request photographs of particular parts of the firearm be submitted. When
a firearms technician is involved in the verification process her/her
unique identifier is linked to the firearm as identifying that the firearm
was verified by phone.
Non-restricted firearms: Some members of the public do
not have easy access to a firearms verifier. Due to the fact that verification
is mandatory upon transfer the Canada Firearms Centre offers the telephone
verification service to those without easy access to a verifier. This
is both the origin and purpose of telephone verification.
TOTAL FIREARMS VERIFIED BY PHONE
|
• Non- Restricted: 104,366 • Prohibited: 914 • Restricted: 3,425 • Grand Total: 108,705 |
Firearm Verification Information Review: The Canada Firearms Centre is
conducting a thorough and focused review on the recording of firearm verification
information. In the case that this review results in a material change
to any of the numbers released the Centre will provide you with an update
through the ATIP office.