RCMP Comments on Prohibiting Derya MK-12 Shotgun as AR-15 Variant

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Derya Arms MK-12. Source: Derya Arms

TheGunBlog.ca — The RCMP, which controls private firearm ownership in Canada, comments below on changing its legal opinion last month on the popular Derya Arms MK-12 shotgun to a “Prohibited variant” of the AR-15 or AR-10 rifle.

The Ottawa-based Royal Canadian Mounted Police had considered the Turkish 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun “Non-Restricted” until June 15, when it suddenly revised its view.

It’s now a crime to buy, sell, or use a MK-12.

The governing Liberal Party ordered mass rifle and shotgun confiscations on May 1, all the while saying repeatedly that owners of 10-gauge and 12-gauge shotguns are exempt.

Derya MK-12 in Canada

  • Retail Price: $1,200 + Tax
  • Number Owned: 10,000
  • Purchase Value: $12 Million + Tax
  • Number Bought May 1 – June 15: 500
  • Source: Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association, 17 June 2020, Twitter

O’Dell Engineering, the main Canadian distributor of the Derya MK-12, didn’t respond to our requests for comment.

RCMP Comments on Prohibiting Derya MK-12

Camille Boily-Lavoie, a spokeswoman for the RCMP, responded today by e-mail to our questions sent last month.

TheGunBlog.ca added paragraph breaks in some cases for readability.

Many firearm owners bought the Derya MK-12 after May 1 because it wasn’t named or covered by SOR/2020-96, and by its previous FRT entry. They consider the RCMP is overreaching its authority and prohibiting guns in secret via the FRT.

Would you have a response to these concerns?
It is important to note that the Firearms Reference Table (FRT) is not a legal instrument.

The FRT is an administrative document created by the RCMP’s firearms experts who have, based on the definitions set out in the Criminal Code and the types of firearms prescribed in the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited or Restricted (“Classification Regulations”) and the Firearms Act, conducted technical assessments of firearms to assist law enforcement officers, customs officers, and officials responsible for the regulation of firearms with the identification and classification of firearms.

The Criminal Code and the Classification Regulations are the prevailing legal authority with respect to firearm classification.

That said, the Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) has been working diligently to ensure that the FRT is updated to reflect all of the classification changes resulting from the Order in Council issued May 1st, which amended the Classification Regulations (the “OIC”).

This includes assessing variants or modified versions of the newly prohibited principal models which, the CFP’s technical experts’ may assess as meeting the new legal classification created by the OIC. The CFP is working as quickly as it can to ensure that these classification assessments are completed and that any changes be published in the FRT.

On May 28, 2020, the CFP posted an updated FRT public version, in PDF format, to the CFP website https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firearms/firearms-reference-table.

The FRT public version contains a link to a supplementary list that isolates those FRT records affected by the May 1, 2020, OIC. The records contained in the supplementary list are also in the FRT, and both are updated regularly.

Could you say why the RCMP considers the Derya MK-12 is now “Prohibited”?
Based on a technical analysis conducted by firearms experts of the CFP, the Derya Model MK12, 12 GA, semi-automatic shotgun was assessed as a prohibited variant pursuant to item 87 of Part I of the Classification Regulations.

[Editor’s Note: Part 87 of SOR/2020-96, cabinet’s updated arbitrary list of blacklisted firearms, declares as “Prohibited” with some exceptions: “The firearms of the designs commonly known as the M16, AR-10 and AR-15 rifles and the M4 carbine, and any variants or modified versions of them…”]

Would you have an estimate of the number of owners/firearms affected?
Given other priorities, we are unable to provide statistics at this time.

However, specific to your question, we do not maintain statistics on non-restricted firearms including the newly prohibited firearms previously classified as non-restricted.

Could you say how many new firearm models were prohibited from May 26 to June 18? (About 27 pages x 12 per page = roughly 324?)
Please see the most recently updated public version of the FRT on our website biweekly, which includes a complete list of all the newly prohibited firearms and their variants.

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