Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Marginal note:Where no finding or application

• 117.06 (1) Any thing or document seized pursuant to subsection 117.04(1) or (2) shall be returned to the person from whom it was seized if

  • (a) no application is made under subsection 117.05(1) within thirty days after the date of execution of the warrant or of the seizure without a warrant, as the case may be; or

  • (b) an application is made under subsection 117.05(1) within the period referred to in paragraph (a), and the justice does not make a finding as described in subsection 117.05(4).

• Marginal note:Restoration of authorizations

  (2) Where, pursuant to subsection (1), any thing is returned to the person from whom it was seized and an authorization, a licence or a registration certificate, as the case may be, is revoked pursuant to subsection 117.04(4), the justice referred to in paragraph (1)(b) may order that the revocation be reversed and that the authorization, licence or registration certificate be restored.

Exempted Persons

Marginal note:Public officers

• 117.07 (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, but subject to section 117.1, no public officer is guilty of an offence under this Act or the Firearms Act by reason only that the public officer

  • (a) possesses a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, any prohibited ammunition or an explosive substance in the course of or for the purpose of the public officer’s duties or employment;

  • (b) manufactures or transfers, or offers to manufacture or transfer, a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, a firearm part, any ammunition or any prohibited ammunition in the course of the public officer’s duties or employment;

  • (c) exports or imports a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, a firearm part or any prohibited ammunition in the course of the public officer’s duties or employment;

  • (d) exports or imports a component or part designed exclusively for use in the manufacture of or assembly into an automatic firearm in the course of the public officer’s duties or employment;

  • (e) in the course of the public officer’s duties or employment, alters a firearm so that it is capable of, or manufactures or assembles any firearm with intent to produce a firearm that is capable of, discharging projectiles in rapid succession during one pressure of the trigger;

  • (f) fails to report the loss, theft or finding of any firearm, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, prohibited device, ammunition, prohibited ammunition or explosive substance that occurs in the course of the public officer’s duties or employment or the destruction of any such thing in the course of the public officer’s duties or employment; or

  • (g) alters a serial number on a firearm in the course of the public officer’s duties or employment.

• Definition of public officer

  (2) In this section, public officer means

  • (a) a peace officer;

  • (b) a member of the Canadian Forces or of the armed forces of a state other than Canada who is attached or seconded to any of the Canadian Forces;

  • (c) an operator of a museum established by the Chief of the Defence Staff or a person employed in any such museum;

  • (d) a member of a cadet organization under the control and supervision of the Canadian Forces;

  • (e) a person training to become a police officer or a peace officer under the control and supervision of

    • (i) a police force, or

    • (ii) a police academy or similar institution designated by the Attorney General of Canada or the lieutenant governor in council of a province;

  • (f) a member of a visiting force, within the meaning of section 2 of the Visiting Forces Act, who is authorized under paragraph 14(a) of that Act to possess and carry explosives, ammunition and firearms;

  • (g) a person, or member of a class of persons, employed in the federal public administration or by the government of a province or municipality who is prescribed to be a public officer;

  • (h) the Commissioner of Firearms, the Registrar, a chief firearms officer, any firearms officer and any person designated under section 100 of the Firearms Act;

  • (i) a person employed by the Bank of Canada or the Royal Canadian Mint who is responsible for the security of its facilities; or

  • (j) a person employed by any federal agency or body, other than a person employed in the federal public administration, who is responsible for the security of that agency’s or body’s facilities and is prescribed to be a public officer.

Marginal note:Preclearance officers

117.071 Despite any other provision of this Act, but subject to section 117.1, no preclearance officer, as defined in section 5 of the Preclearance Act, 2016, is guilty of an offence under this Act or the Firearms Act by reason only that the preclearance officer

• (a) possesses a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device or any prohibited ammunition in the course of or for the purpose of their duties or employment;

• (b) transfers or offers to transfer a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, a firearm part, any ammunition or any prohibited ammunition in the course of their duties or employment;

• (c) exports or imports a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, a firearm part or any prohibited ammunition in the course of their duties or employment; or

• (d) fails to report the loss, theft or finding of any firearm, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, prohibited device, ammunition, prohibited ammunition or explosive substance that occurs in the course of their duties or employment or the destruction of any such thing in the course of their duties or employment.

Marginal note:Individuals acting for police force, Canadian Forces and visiting forces

117.08 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, but subject to section 117.1, no individual is guilty of an offence under this Act or the Firearms Act by reason only that the individual

• (a) possesses a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, any prohibited ammunition or an explosive substance,

• (b) manufactures or transfers, or offers to manufacture or transfer, a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, a firearm part, any ammunition or any prohibited ammunition,

• (c) exports or imports a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, a firearm part or any prohibited ammunition,

• (d) exports or imports a component or part designed exclusively for use in the manufacture of or assembly into an automatic firearm,

• (e) alters a firearm so that it is capable of, or manufactures or assembles any firearm with intent to produce a firearm that is capable of, discharging projectiles in rapid succession during one pressure of the trigger,

• (f) fails to report the loss, theft or finding of any firearm, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, prohibited device, ammunition, prohibited ammunition or explosive substance or the destruction of any such thing, or

• (g) alters a serial number on a firearm,

if the individual does so on behalf of, and under the authority of, a police force, the Canadian Forces, a visiting force, within the meaning of section 2 of the Visiting Forces Act, or a department of the Government of Canada or of a province.

Marginal note:Employees of business with licence

• 117.09 (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, but subject to section 117.1, no individual who is the holder of a licence to possess and acquire restricted firearms and who is employed by a business as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Firearms Act that itself is the holder of a licence that authorizes the business to carry out specified activities in relation to prohibited firearms, prohibited weapons, prohibited devices or prohibited ammunition is guilty of an offence under this Act or the Firearms Act by reason only that the individual, in the course of the individual’s duties or employment in relation to those specified activities,

  • (a) possesses a prohibited firearm, a prohibited weapon, a prohibited device or any prohibited ammunition;

  • (b) manufactures or transfers, or offers to manufacture or transfer, a prohibited weapon, a prohibited device or any prohibited ammunition;

  • (c) alters a firearm so that it is capable of, or manufactures or assembles any firearm with intent to produce a firearm that is capable of, discharging projectiles in rapid succession during one pressure of the trigger; or

  • (d) alters a serial number on a firearm.

• Marginal note:Employees of business with licence

  (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, but subject to section 117.1, no individual who is employed by a business as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Firearms Act that itself is the holder of a licence is guilty of an offence under this Act or the Firearms Act by reason only that the individual, in the course of the individual’s duties or employment, possesses, manufactures or transfers, or offers to manufacture or transfer, a partially manufactured barrelled weapon that, in its unfinished state, is not a barrelled weapon from which any shot, bullet or other projectile can be discharged and that is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death to a person.

• Marginal note:Employees of carriers

  (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, but subject to section 117.1, no individual who is employed by a carrier, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Firearms Act, is guilty of an offence under this Act or that Act by reason only that the individual, in the course of the individual’s duties or employment, possesses any firearm, cross-bow, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, prohibited device, firearm part, ammunition or prohibited ammunition or transfers, or offers to transfer any such thing.

• Marginal note:Employees of museums handling functioning imitation antique firearm

  (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, but subject to section 117.1, no individual who is employed by a museum as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Firearms Act that itself is the holder of a licence is guilty of an offence under this Act or the Firearms Act by reason only that the individual, in the course of the individual’s duties or employment, possesses or transfers a firearm that is designed or intended to exactly resemble, or to resemble with near precision, an antique firearm if the individual has been trained to handle and use such a firearm.

• Marginal note:Employees of museums handling firearms generally

  (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, but subject to section 117.1, no individual who is employed by a museum as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Firearms Act that itself is the holder of a licence is guilty of an offence under this Act or the Firearms Act by reason only that the individual possesses or transfers a firearm in the course of the individual’s duties or employment if the individual is designated, by name, by a provincial minister within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Firearms Act.

• Marginal note:Public safety

  (6) A provincial minister shall not designate an individual for the purpose of subsection (5) where it is not desirable, in the interests of the safety of any person, to designate the individual.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (7) A provincial minister may attach to a designation referred to in subsection (5) any reasonable condition that the provincial minister considers desirable in the particular circumstances and in the interests of the safety of any person.

Marginal note:Restriction

117.1 Sections 117.07 to 117.09 do not apply if the public officer or the individual is subject to a prohibition order and acts contrary to that order or to an authorization or a licence issued under the authority of an order made under subsection 113(1).

General

Marginal note:Onus on the accused

117.11 Where, in any proceedings for an offence under any of sections 89, 90, 91, 93, 97, 101, 104 and 105, any question arises as to whether a person is the holder of an authorization, a licence or a registration certificate, the onus is on the accused to prove that the person is the holder of the authorization, licence or registration certificate.

Marginal note:Authorizations, etc., as evidence

• 117.12 (1) In any proceedings under this Act or any other Act of Parliament, a document purporting to be an authorization, a licence or a registration certificate is evidence of the statements contained therein.

• Marginal note:Certified copies

  (2) In any proceedings under this Act or any other Act of Parliament, a copy of any authorization, licence or registration certificate is, if certified as a true copy by the Registrar or a chief firearms officer, admissible in evidence and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, has the same probative force as the authorization, licence or registration certificate would have had if it had been proved in the ordinary way.

Marginal note:Certificate of analyst

• 117.13 (1) A certificate purporting to be signed by an analyst stating that the analyst has analyzed any weapon, prohibited device, ammunition, prohibited ammunition or explosive substance, or any part or component of such a thing, and stating the results of the analysis is evidence in any proceedings in relation to any of those things under this Act or under section 19 of the Export and Import Permits Act in relation to subsection 15(2) of that Act without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the certificate.

• Marginal note:Attendance of analyst

  (2) The party against whom a certificate of an analyst is produced may, with leave of the court, require the attendance of the analyst for the purposes of cross-examination.

• Marginal note:Notice of intention to produce certificate

  (3) No certificate of an analyst may be admitted in evidence unless the party intending to produce it has, before the trial, given to the party against whom it is intended to be produced reasonable notice of that intention together with a copy of the certificate.

• (4) and (5) [Repealed, 2008, c. 18, s. 2]

Marginal note:Amnesty period

• 117.14 (1) The Governor in Council may, by order, declare for any purpose referred to in subsection (2) any period as an amnesty period with respect to any weapon, prohibited device, prohibited ammunition, explosive substance or component or part designed exclusively for use in the manufacture of or assembly into an automatic firearm.

• Marginal note:Purposes of amnesty period

  (2) An order made under subsection (1) may declare an amnesty period for the purpose of

  • (a) permitting any person in possession of any thing to which the order relates to do anything provided in the order, including, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, delivering the thing to a peace officer, a firearms officer or a chief firearms officer, registering it, destroying it or otherwise disposing of it; or

  • (b) permitting alterations to be made to any prohibited firearm, prohibited weapon, prohibited device or prohibited ammunition to which the order relates so that it no longer qualifies as a prohibited firearm, a prohibited weapon, a prohibited device or prohibited ammunition, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Reliance on amnesty period

  (3) No person who, during an amnesty period declared by an order made under subsection (1) and for a purpose described in the order, does anything provided for in the order, is, by reason only of the fact that the person did that thing, guilty of an offence under this Part.

• Marginal note:Proceedings are a nullity

  (4) Any proceedings taken under this Part against any person for anything done by the person in reliance of this section are a nullity.