Canadian Firearms Program
| Programme canadien des armes à feu | |
Heraldic badge of the RCMP
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 2008 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Jurisdiction | Firearm Registration and Licensing |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Annual budget | $84 million |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | Royal Canadian Mounted Police |
| Website | CFP Webpage |
Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) (French: Programme canadien des armes à feu) (PCAF), formerly Canada Firearms Centre is a Canadian government program within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Policing Support Services, responsible for licensing and regulating firearms in Canada.
As of December 2015, the Canadian Firearms Program recorded a total of 2,026,011 valid firearms licences, which is roughly 5.6% of the Canadian population. The four most licensed provinces are, in order, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. The provinces and territories with the highest rate of licensing are Yukon (18.5%), Newfoundland and Labrador (14%), Northwest Territories (12.1%) and New Brunswick (8.9%).
Bill C-68: An Act Respecting Firearms and Other Weapons was assented in 1995, two years after the bill was introduced by the government to the House of Commons in targeting firearms licensing and registration. CFC was officially created and began operation in 1996 to oversee the administration of the Firearms Act and the Canadian Firearms Program.
On May 17, 2006, responsibility for the Canadian Firearms Program was transferred from the Ministry of Public Safety to the RCMP.
On September 4, 2008, the Canada Firearms Centre and the Firearms Support Services Directorate of RCMP was merged to create the Canadian Firearms Program.
CFP celebrated the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Central Processing Site in Miramichi, New Brunswick, in 2008.
Under the Constitution of Canada, the federal government has the power to regulate firearm ownership under the criminal law power (See Supreme Court of Canada, Reference re Firearms Act). Despite this, each province is free to opt in to operate the program and its regulations – Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have chosen to opt in and British Columbia is contemplating the idea. However, the CFP continues to be the central data-processing site and is responsible for the physical issuance of possession and acquisition licences in all cases. Those who chose to opt in would have all the administrative fees reimbursed by the federal government per section 95 of the Firearms Act.
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