In Canada we have two grades of licence "Possession and Acquisition Licence" (PAL) and "Restricted Possession and Acquisition Licence" (RPAL).
To obtain a PAL you need to take a Federally mandated safety course, do a written and practical exam; fill out an file an application with references, and before issuing a licence, they do a very intensive background check; and will likely call one or more of your references. This allows you to buy rifles, shotguns, and high-powered air guns and shoot them for an approved purpose (hunting and target shooting).
To obtain an RPAL, you need to have a valid PAL, you need to take an additional Federally Mandated Safety Course, you will need to do another written and another practical exam; fill out another application with references, and they will do an even more intense background check. This is an upgrade to the PAL licence, and in addition to non restricted firearms, it allows you buy pistols and rifles that have been designated as "restricted" and to shoot them for an approved purpose (in the case of restricted, that would be target shooting/competition).
There are three exceptions:
- Concealed carry for a valid reason (very few issued)
- A trapper with a valid trappers licence and a registered trap line can obtain a trappers open carry licence for .22 pistol/revolver only. Additional training is required.
- Wilderness open carry for bear/wildlife defense; Minimum requirement is .357 magnum or equivalent power/energy; special training, and be able to demonstrate proficiency and accuracy with your pistol. If you buy a different pistol, you need to qualify with it also. This permit is specific to the Pistol and the owner.
Included with your RPAL is a blanket Authorization to Transport. This allows us to transport to and from a range, a gunsmith, a gun show, a gun dealer, to any provincial or international border. To transport to or through another province, you need to call in and apply; takes a couple minutes, and they send you the paper-work by email. If I were going to a competition in the US, I would need to comply with their regulations for each state, which is not a big deal either. Some exceptions; I have a couple Norinco pistols (made in China) they are prohib in the USA, so I would not be able to bring them in for any reason.
Since this is Federal, everyone is in the data base, every day, every licensed owner is electronically checked against every police report in Canada.
While I understand how restrictive this may seem in light of the gun culture in the USA, it works very well here in Canada.
Here as in the USA, it is the unlawful ownership and use that needs addressing. It is rare that even a stolen firearm is used in crime, as our storage regulations make theft very unlikely.
Disarming legal owners in Canada would have zero effect on gun crime; more screening of persons and shipments at entry points into Canada would have the most positive effect.
