TheGunBlog.ca — Canada’s RCMP, the agency that approves and tracks gun users, said today it deleted web pages about Bill C-71 in June after the government passed the new law against hunters, sport shooters and gun stores.

The two pages provided information for more than 10,000 families and businesses targeted by the first round of Bill C-71 gun bans.

The new law makes their “Non-restricted” and “Restricted” CZ 858 and SAN Swiss Arms rifles “Prohibited” to force their eventual seizure and destruction.

TheGunBlog.ca reported Sept. 7 that the web pages had gone offline days or weeks before, and contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for more information.

RCMP Response

Caroline Duval, a spokeswoman for the Ottawa-based RCMP, responded to TheGunBlog.ca today by e-mail for the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program:

The Canadian Firearms Program website was updated in June 2019 to reflect the fact that Bill C-71 received Royal Assent.

As stated on our website, although Bill C-71 has now received Royal Assent, most of the provisions in the legislation require an order in council before they can take effect. More information on how these other elements may affect firearms owners will be published online if these elements are brought into force.

Until the new elements of the legislation come into force, current rules regarding firearms licensing and registration remain in effect.

An Act to amend certain Acts and Regulations in relation to firearms may be found at https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-71/royal-assent.

The RCMP’s current Bill C-71 web page shows a date of June 21, the day the governing Liberal Party passed it into law.

Complex and Confusing

The Liberals created Bill C-71 to ban guns more easily and to criminalize Canada’s 1,500 gun stores and 2.2 million hunters, farmers, ranchers, sport shooters and gun collectors with a federal firearm licence.

The law targets everyone who has a permit or applies for one, including renewals.

The legislation is complex and hard to explain even for specialists. The RCMP had updated its web pages more than once just to clarify the CZ 858 and SAN Swiss Arms confiscations in the context of the bill.

See our Bill C-71 page for an overview in plain English.

Massive Gun Bans Ahead

The Liberals are planning gun bans beyond the ones in Bill C-71 if they win next month’s election, starting with the owners of 200,000 rifles/shotguns.

Bill C-71 is one of the most-contested legislative initiatives of the outgoing government. The Conservative Party has promised to repeal the law if it wins the election.

Projections by 338Canada.com based on opinion polls suggest the Liberals will be re-elected.

Read our new book (Amazon Bestseller) to save your guns:

Canadian Gun Owners Guide to Election 2019

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Timeline of RCMP Web Pages on Bill C-71

 

2018

• March 20: Government proposes Bill C-71 to ban more guns and further restrict licensed gun users and stores.
• May 8: RCMP publishes web pages on “How does Bill C-71 affect individuals?” and “How does Bill C-71 affect businesses?” ordering compliance with measures and deadlines in draft text of law.
• May 9: TheGunBlog.ca is first to report how the RCMP website seeks to enforce the draft law.
• May 16: RCMP tells TheGunBlog.ca it aims for greater clarity and is “in the process of reviewing the information that was posted.”
• May 29: Conservative opposition MP Glen Motz tells House of Commons the RCMP website on Bill C-71 undermines the authority of parliament.
• May 30: RCMP updates Bill C-71 pages, changes title to “How would Bill C-71 affect individuals?” and adds introduction saying content is to provide guidance if proposed bill becomes law.
• June 4: RCMP tells TheGunBlog.ca it’s “continuously reviewing” the website to ensure clarity and avoid confusion.
• June 19: Speaker of the House of Commons says RCMP appears to have undermined the authority of parliament and misled the public with Bill C-71 web pages.
• June 21: RCMP Bill C-71 website briefly goes offline because of a computer-server fault.
• July 3: RCMP rewrites Bill C-71 web pages to say it is proposed legislation before the House of Commons, use wording to show conditionality, and clarify steps for firearm owners to avoid prison if bill becomes law.
• October 30: House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) begins review of RCMP’s web communications on Bill C-71.

 

2019

• February 26: House of Commons PROC committee submits report after reviewing RCMP’s web communications on Bill C-71.
• June 21: Government officially passes Bill C-71. Most clauses require an order in council to take effect.
• June: RCMP deletes web pages on how Bill C-71 affects individuals and businesses in relation to CZ 858 and SAN Swiss Arms bans. (Timing is based on Sept. 11 comment to TheGunBlog.ca.)
• September 7: TheGunBlog.ca reports the RCMP deleted its Bill C-71 web pages.
• September 11: The RCMP tells TheGunBlog.ca it deleted the web pages on Bill C-71 in June after Bill C-71 passed.

 

PDF Screenshots of Deleted Web Pages

These PDFs printed by TheGunBlog.ca are provided for historical reference and may not show the most recent versions of the documents.

Individuals

 

Businesses