Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said the federal government has failed to prepare an RCMP to manage firearm transfers and license applications following a “fundamental change” in the fist gun law in recent months. It states.
and press release On July 21, the Alberta government announced in May that it introduced new rules on how to manage pistols to ensure that RCMP has the resources to handle the “flood” of licenses and transfer applications. He criticized the free government for doing nothing.
“Federal processing latency for firearm licenses has risen from one to two to four to six months. More complex license applications that require detailed review are currently 12-18. It can take months, “said the press release.
upon May 11 When May 30,liberal publication Due to changes in the Firearms Act under Bills C-71 and C-21, respectively, a “play” of pistol sales and transfer requests directed to the Canadian Firearms Program, a federal government program within RCMP responsible for licensing and regulating firearms, respectively. Increased “was caused.
The influx of requests increased the number of email inquiries from applicants regarding the status of their applications by 40% at the Chief Firearms Office in Alberta. “The turmoil caused by the sudden changes in federal law has affected Alberta’s firearms management,” the state government said.
According to Shandro, his state has set up a chief firearms office to better represent Alberta’s interests, but firearms are primarily under federal jurisdiction.
“The federal government has made radical changes to all Alberta and Canadian law-abiding firearm owners without properly preparing a system to support the management of firearms in preparation for a predictable increase in workload. The implementation brought great disadvantages, “said Shandro, also Alberta’s soliciting president.
“Unnecessary red tape”
The announcement on May 11 introduced new rules under Bill C-71. Legal firearm sales began on May 18, requiring corporate and individual sellers to approve and record the transfer by the firearms registrant before closing the transaction.
“However, under existing rules governing the sale of unrestricted firearms, the seller owns the gun by ensuring that the recipient holds a possession and acquisition (PAL) license. We need to make sure that this is legally permitted, “said the Alberta Government. a press release On the same day.
“After the seller has made the transfer of the firearm himself, requesting the registration authority to confirm the transfer imposes unnecessary bureaucratic formalism and waits for the process to already have adequate protection. Will occur. “
Also, the firearms business requirement Keep sales and inventory records related to unlimited firearms for at least 20 years.
In the announcement on May 30, the Liberal Party government presented bill C-21.Nationwide freezeProhibits the import, purchase, sale, or transfer of pistols in Canada.
The Alberta government the next day accused the move of targeting law-abiding firearm owners rather than dangerous criminals.
“Once again, the federal government is the owner of firearms that comply with the law, rather than tracking down the criminals who are causing public security concerns in Canada,” said Teri Bryant, Alberta’s Chief Firearms Officer. Is targeted. ” statement at the time.
and statement Bryant said on July 21 that he had reworked the process of processing transfer applications to address the federal government’s unprocessed portion and reduce Alberta’s waiting time. However, due to her current staff level, her office can only “process additional work intermittently without adversely affecting the core business.”
“There isn’t much we can do without the full cooperation and preparation of federal responders,” she said.
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Isaac Teo is a Toronto-based Epoch Times reporter.