• Home
  • About
    • About Christopher di Armani
    • Disclosure Statement
    • Code of Ethics
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Gun Laws 101
  • FPO Violators
  • Store
  • Donate
  • Hire Me

Christopher di Armani.com

In Praise of Individual Rights and Freedoms

  • Top 25
  • Big Brother
    • Access To Information
    • Bureaucratic Incompetence
    • Bureaucrat’s Rule #1
    • Censorship
    • Feeding at the Government Trough
    • Lemonade Freedom
  • Common Sense
    • Expressions of Gratitude
    • Good Samaritans
    • Good Stuff
    • In Memoriam — Remembering our Heros
    • Life
    • Personal Responsibility
    • Politically Correct Madness
  • Courts
    • Abusive Prosecutions
    • Civil Forfeiture
    • Human Rights Tribunals
    • Judicial Corruption
    • Justice Denied
    • Justice System Abuses
    • Police Sentencing Double-Standards
    • Prosecutorial Misconduct
    • SLAPP Lawsuits
  • Crime
    • Abuse of Trust
    • Canadian Mass Murders
    • Firearm Prohibition Orders
    • Human Depravity
    • Immigration Issues
    • Racism
    • Restraining Orders
    • Sexual Predators
    • Violent Criminals
    • Wrongful Convictions
  • Guns
    • Concealed Carry
    • Dial 9-1-1 and Die
    • Firearms Act
    • Fun Gun Stuff
    • Gun Control
    • Gun-Free Zones
    • Gun Politics
    • Gun Registration
    • Negligent Discharges
    • Target Shooting Competitions
  • Islam
    • Canadian Islamic Disgraces
    • Islamic Terrorism
    • Radical Islam
    • Sharia Law
    • The Religion Of Peace
  • Police
    • Abuse of Police Authority
    • Filming Police
    • Great Police Officers
    • Officer Down
    • Police Brutality
    • Police Corruption
    • Police Misconduct
    • RCMP Accountability
    • RCMP Hall of Shame
    • Warrantless Searches
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Ethics in Politics
    • Political Antics
    • Political Corruption
    • Social Justice
    • Stupid Human Tricks
    • Union Bay Improvement District
  • Rights
    • Charter of Rights and Freedoms
    • Constitutional Violations
    • Freedom of Assembly
    • Freedom of Religion
    • Freedom of Speech
    • Property Rights
    • Privacy Rights
    • Self-Defense
    • Unreasonable Search and Seizure

How to Obtain Your Firearm Possession and Acquisition Licence

Published February 14, 2020 by Christopher di Armani Filed Under: Canada's Firearms Act, Gun Politics, Guns


Many Canadians believe anyone can walk into their local gun store, toss a wad of cash on the counter and walk out with a gun. Worse, this lie is often promoted by reporters and elected officials alike.

It’s critical for Canadians to understand all of the legal hurdles an individual must clear before they are granted a firearm Possession and Acquisition Licence by the RCMP Canadian Firearm Centre.

It’s also the only way to understand just how seriously Canadians take the public safety issues surrounding lawful firearm ownership.

Only by knowing what Canadian law says about firearms can we hold our politicians to account when they lie to us, the media and each other in the House of Commons.

To correct the well-promoted misconception anyone can buy a gun, here are the steps required, including all the hurdles you must jump before you are granted a Canadian firearm Possession and Acquisition Licence.


Section 5 of the Firearms Act sets out the conditions for licence eligibility. The law’s default is to refuse a licence, as evidenced by the language in 5 (1).

A person is not eligible to hold a licence if it is desirable, in the interests of the safety… that the person not possess a firearm…

If the applicant passes the default refusal mechanism, their eligibility to hold a licence is determined by Section 5 (2) parts  (a), (b) and (c).

In this section, it says the applicant must not have any convictions under a wide series of criminal offences, must not have a history of mental illness or “history of behaviour that includes violence or threatened or attempted violence on the part of the person against any person.”

If any of these are in your personal history, you do not qualify to hold a licence.

Likewise, if a person is prohibited from owning firearms by court order, they are not eligible for a licence. [Section 6 (1)] Firearm Prohibition Orders are judicial restrictions typically, but not always, ordered against on people who commit violence against another person.

Assuming the individual passes these hurdles, they must meet the safety course requirements set out in Section 7, which include both written and practical exams.

  • To legally own Non-Restricted firearms (most rifles and shotguns) the individual must pass the Canadian Firearm Safety Course.
  • To legally own Restricted firearms (handguns and some semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15) the individual must also pass the Canadian Restricted Firearm Safety Course.

Completing each course and taking the written and practical exams takes a couple of days, often spread over two weekends or a series of week nights. Registering for a place in an upcoming course can take a few months, and the total cost is about $300.00.

The application form must be filled out and submitted, along with the required fee for processing.

Once the application form is received by the RCMP’s Canadian Firearms Program and passes initial screening, background checks begin.

The RCMP and/or the applicant’s provincial police force (and possibly their local police) examines their past to ensure the individual is eligible to possess firearms. This process can take three months or more.

Individuals listed as references on the licence application may be called (they aren’t always) and asked a series of questions. These questions are designed to elicit a negative response so your licence application can be denied.

Only by passing all of these requirements and paying all the required fees for training and licencing is a person eligible to hold a licence.

The next time someone says it is easy to legally own firearms in Canada, please set them straight and direct them to this article.

 

NOTE: I describe the reference check process and list the questions asked in an article about police attitudes toward firearm ownership and my daughter-in-law’s firearm licence application.

 


What are your experiences with obtaining a firearm licence? Please let me know about your experience with wait times, background and reference checks in the comments section below.

Author

  • Christopher di Armani
    Christopher di Armani

    Christopher di Armani is a freedom-loving Amazon bestselling author and current events commentator from Lytton, BC, Canada, who strives to awaken the passion for liberty inside every human being.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Tags: Canadian Firearm Centre, Canadian Firearm Program, Canadian Firearm Safety Course, Canadian Restricted Firearm Safety Course, conditions for licence eligibility, firearm prohibition order, firearm safety course, Firearms Act, gun licence refusal, Possession and Acquisition Licence, prohibited from owning firearms

Did you find value in this article?

If you found this article useful or it contained valuable information and you want to thank me, the best way is to buy me a coffee or two.

1. Send an Interac eTransfer to author @ christopherdiarmani.net (remove spaces)

2. Send via PayPal using this link: https://www.paypal.me/ThatLibertyGuy

3. Use your credit card in my online store to support me with a one-time donation, a monthly recurring donation, or an annual donation. See these links for all the details about the thank-you gifts I offer my supporters.

Comments

  1. Joe says

    February 14, 2020 at 10:59 am

    “Many Canadians believe anyone can walk into their local gun store, toss a wad of cash on the counter and walk out with a gun.”
    That IS absolutely how it should be. If your argument against that will be that it could be a violent person or a criminal that is doing the buying, ask yourself ‘why is this person freely roaming in society?’
    A gun is not the only thing they could use to do harm. But apparently we are only concerned with the harm they could do with a gun, other violence is a-ok, no license or background check needed. If they are so dangerous that they could not pass a background check for a PAL, then they are too dangerous to be running around free in society.

    Your next argument will be the person is a good person but does not know how to safely handle a firearm and that should prevent them from buying one. You will get a similar argument from me on this one… where is the licensing for knives, bats, gasoline, pressure cookers, etc? Yeah that’s right, it is not needed. It is called person responsibility (to educate yourself before buying a tool).

    Side note: safe gun handling should be taught in high school (not by leftist anti-gun teachers!) as that would address the above and also solve 99% of the gun image problem, and Wendy and Heidi and Blair etc couldn’t make Canadians believe their lies.

    Reply
  2. RCEME says

    March 2, 2020 at 1:13 pm

    “We” as PAL holders know these facts. The problem is that if it not in your back yard then who cares? That is the problem. People are bombarded with misinformation and have no choice but to believe it (human nature) as the real facts are suppressed to a very small demographer which is literally in our back yard. Once again media is a huge influence and is not producing unbiased facts. My question and the question we should all be asking is “WHY”?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to my commentaries

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Latest Tweets

Follow @ThatLibertyGuy

Christopher di Armani 🇨🇦 🇺🇸
@ThatLibertyGuy

  • New comment: Edmonton Police Service Constable Adam Kube Refused Any Appeal In His Termination for Corrupt Practices christopherdiarmani.com/10846/police/p…
    about 3 weeks ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • A big shout out to @CandiceMalcolm, @AndrewLawton, @AnthonyFurey and the entire team at @TrueNorthCentre for sendin… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    about 4 weeks ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • For earthly princes lay aside their power when they rise up against God, and are unworthy to be reckoned among the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    about 1 month ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • New comment: Paul Rogan Passes: The End of an Era christopherdiarmani.com/18908/common-s…
    about 2 months ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • To restore common sense to our nation, this is the path. The political left works around the clock and around the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    about 2 months ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite

Most Popular This Week

  • All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing
  • No Right to Bear Arms in Canada? You might want to re-check your history.
  • A Historic Day for Freedom of Speech: Geert Wilders
  • The National Anthem BANNED… at Indiana’s Goshen College?
  • Thank God for Andrew Abbass and his Lawyer
  • Paul Palango: One Man’s Pursuit of the Truth Could be the RCMP’s Undoing
  • Yvon Mercier: From RCMP Depot Trainer to Double-Murderer

Most Popular This Month

  • All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing
  • Yvon Mercier: From RCMP Depot Trainer to Double-Murderer
  • OPP Sgt. Mike Dolderman’s Sexual Assault Trial Delayed Again
  • How did Live-Streaming Rape Become a ‘Thing’?
  • Dale Merle Nelson’s 1970 Murder Spree in Creston, British Columbia
  • OPP Sergeant Jamie Gillespie Pleads Guilty to attempting to intercept private communications
  • Escaped Mental Patient William Bernard Lepine and the 1972 Kettle Valley Murders

© 2004–2023 ChristopherDiArmani.com | All Rights Reserved

Close

Buy me a cup of coffee

A ridiculous amount of coffee was consumed in the process of writing these articles. If you enjoy my work, please buy me a coffee or two to keep me going!