Parliamentary Committee Notes: Proposed Red and Yellow Flag Measures in Bill C-21
Key Messages:
- The proposed red (weapons prohibition) and yellow (licence revocation) flag regimes in Bill C-21 would remove firearms or temporarily suspend or revoke a licence when someone is a threat to themselves or others.
- Acts of domestic violence, stalking or being subject to a protection order would automatically result in weapons removal and licence revocation.
- These would be two distinct tools for members of the public to use in seeking assistance from the court system or from a Chief Firearms Officer (CFO).
- These measures would complement existing processes, such as calling 911 for immediate assistance, and do not detract from current police powers to seize firearms or for CFOs to suspend or revoke licences when warranted.
- These proposals are part of our comprehensive strategy to combat illegal firearms, address the root causes of violence, and remove dangerous firearms from our communities.
Background:
Family violence such as gender-based violence and intimate partner violence (IPV) can have long-lasting and negative health, social, and economic effects that span generations. Police-reported data shows that rates of IPV increased by 14 per cent between 2014 and 2019, marking a fifth consecutive annual increase. Additionally, while rates of intimate partner homicides have generally decreased during the last 20 years, it remains a highly gendered form of crime with women accounting for about 8 in 10 (79.5 per cent) of those killed by a partner from 2014 and 2020 (458 of 576 victims), or one woman every 6 days. Studies of IPV, including intimate partner homicides, indicate that the possession of a firearm is a risk factor, as they can be used to threaten, intimidate and injure victims. Furthermore, firearm-related IPV is five times more likely to be lethal than types of IPV not involving a firearm. In terms of firearm suicide, between 2008 and 2018, 75 per cent of all firearms deaths in Canada were suicides and more than 95 per cent of suicide deaths by firearm were males.
Revocation due to Protection Orders or Domestic Violence
To respond to these cases, individuals would have their licences automatically revoked, by operation of law, in the following circumstances:
- they become subject to a protection order; or
- they are involved in an act of domestic violence or stalking.
What constitutes a protection order would be defined in regulations. “Domestic violence” would be interpreted as it is now by the courts, and would cover physical abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse, coercive control, and other aspects of abuse, while stalking is normally equated with criminal harassment under the Criminal Code. An individual who has a licence revoked would need to dispose of their firearms, either by transfer, export, deactivation, destruction, or surrender to a peace officer.
Once the regulations are in place, individuals applying for a licence would also be ineligible due to a prior or current protection order, until such time as they could demonstrate to the Chief Firearms Officer that they pose no danger to any person.
These measures build on amendments to licencing regulations brought into force in the summer of 2021, that require CFOs to consider the entire history of an individual as it pertains to their eligibility to hold a licence.
“Red Flag” and “Yellow Flag” Laws
The “red flag” and “yellow flag” laws would provide additional measures for the authorities to remove firearms from dangerous situations. The “red flag” laws would help victims and individuals to engage the courts if a firearms owner poses a risk to themselves or others regarding their continued possession of a firearm. This approach would allow a judge to impose an order to remove firearms from 1) an individual who may pose a danger to themselves or others, or 2) a third party who could be a risk in providing firearms to such an individual such as a friend, room mate or colleague. The order would remain in effect for a period of 30 days. Currently, applications of this nature are available only to peace officers, firearms officers, and Chief Firearms Officers. Judges would have discretion to grant anonymity to “red flag” applicants and victims by allowing hearings to be held in camera, redacting identifying information and sealing court records.
The “yellow flag” law would provide authority to a Chief Firearms Officer to suspend temporarily an individual's licence for a period of up to 30 days, when there is a reason to suspect the person is no longer eligible to hold a firearms licence (i.e., suspected of straw purchasing). Individuals under licence suspension would not be permitted to use, acquire, or import firearms, but would be permitted to maintain any firearms in their possession at the time of suspension. If the reasonable suspicion is eliminated prior to the end of the 30 days, the licence would be immediately reinstated.
The Government would be supporting these initiatives with $5M in funding, designed to raise awareness about the various new tools and steps that can be taken by individuals to remove firearms from dangerous or high risk situations.
Contacts:
Prepared by:
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