NOTE: TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH TO ENGLISH

PUBLICATION :       Le Devoir

DATE :                        2003.01.20

PAGE :                        A8

SECTION :                 Les Actualités (News)

BYLINE :                    Buzetti, Hélène

DATELINE :                Ottawa

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firearms: Quebecers defy the law 

-------------------------------------------------------------

Quebec may be one of only two Canadian provinces that still support the federal firearms registry, but it is also the province where citizens comply the least. The proportion of firearm owners who do not have a possession licence is highest in Quebec. At least 27.4% of gun owners have not obtained a possession licence. On the other hand, in Alberta, the province seen to be the fiercest opponent of the federal firearms registry, barely 7% of gun owners still do not have permits. Firearm owners had until January 1, 2001, to obtain a licence.

The percentages were calculated by Le Devoir on the basis of estimates provided by GPR Recherche. GPR was mandated by the Canadian Firearms Centre (CFC) two years ago to estimate the number of Canadians who owned guns. This was the most exhaustive study to date. According to the study, there were approximately 690,000 firearm owners in Quebec and 220,000 in Alberta; recent data from the CFC indicates that only 501,134 licences were issued in Quebec, as compared to 204,893 in Alberta.

Firearm owners in Ontario and British Columbia also received low marks, with the law being ignored by 26.9% and 25.1% respectively. In four other provinces, the rate of non-compliance with the law is the lowest in Canada, at 5%.  Only Quebec and Prince Edward Island have not asked Ottawa to suspend its firearms registration program in recent days. 

The CFC is not eager to comment on this kind of data analysis; the purpose of the study by GPC in January 2001 was to gather data on a national scale, rather than province by province. “I know it is very tempting to make comparisons like that. Everyone tries to do it, but that was not the purpose of this study. You can draw your own conclusions …” commented the CFC’s spokesperson, Chantale Breton.

Ms. Breton also pointed out that the estimate of the number of firearm owners by province was based on a national total of 2.46 million. But the study also reported that around 160,000 people said they were about to get rid of their firearms, which would mean that many fewer applicants for licences. Ms. Breton implied that a great many of these people might be in Quebec and Ontario, but did not prove this was the case. “In the estimates [of numbers of owners] by province, no allowance is made for the 6% of people who say they want to be rid of their firearms. Therefore, it is a factor,” explained Ms. Breton, “[...] perhaps there were more or fewer in various regions.”

Firearms control requires two actions by owners: that they obtain a licence and that they register each firearm. According to another study by GPR Recherche, there may be 1.89 million firearms in circulation in Quebec (24% of the Canadian total). It is still not known how many of these arms have been properly registered. The deadline was December 31, 2002, but a six-month grace period is being granted to owners who have sent in a letter of intent.

In view of the muddle over registration—brought back into the public eye by the Auditor General’s report—it is up to each police department or agency to decide whether or not to press charges against someone who breaks the law.

At the Sûreté du Québec, they will be making case-by-case decisions. “It is always left up to the police officer’s judgement,” explained Sûreté spokesperson Johanne Gladu. The officer has the right to enforce the law. Section 112 of the Firearms Act and sections 91 and 92 of the Criminal Code give police officers a complete range of possibilities: if you break the law, you may get six months in prison or a $2000 fine; it depends on the discretion of the officer and the circumstances of each event.”

Ms. Gladu explained that a police officer’s decision could be very different in the case of domestic violence involving an unlicensed firearm owner or in the case of a hunter who does not appear to understand the law.