Hello everyone,
A small foray out of the legalese forum, I heard there was a legal debate going on in these parts.
So first things first, the
Firearms Act:
Authorization to transfer ammunition to individuals
25. A person may transfer ammunition that is not prohibited ammunition to an individual only if the individual
(a) until January 1, 2001, holds a licence authorizing him or her to possess firearms or a prescribed document;
or
(b) after January 1, 2001, holds a licence authorizing him or her to possess firearms.
So the way you need to understand this is that a person can only sell ammunition to a person that has a PAL. That's very clear. The interpretation that you need only not have any reason to believe the person does not hold a PAL is incorrect. Let's look at the provision in question:
Authorization to transfer firearms neither prohibited nor restricted
23. A person may transfer a firearm that is neither a prohibited firearm nor a restricted firearm if, at the time of the transfer,
(a) the transferee holds a licence authorizing the transferee to acquire and possess that kind of firearm; and
(b) the transferor has no reason to believe that the transferee is not authorized to acquire and possess that kind of firearm.
1995, c. 39, s. 23;2003, c. 8, s. 17;2012, c. 6, s. 11.
The "and" at the end of sub-paragraph (a) is key. At the time of the transfer, both (a) and (b) need to be met. It's not either or. So (a) makes it so that the person receiving the firearm has a PAL. Furthermore, through (b), the person selling the firearm must have no reason to belive the person is not authorized to acquire and possess that kind of firearm.
To fulfill (a) when dealing with a stranger, the only way to satisfy the criteria is by seeing it. To fulfill (b), you must not have any reason to believe the person would have, let's say, a Court prohibition not to possess firearms for the time being.
This of course only applies to the transfer of non-restricted firearms.You still need to verify if a person has a PAL. For added safety, there is a mechanism that allows you to verify it with the CFC through the provision of 23.1. But it's not mandatory.
But that's besdies the point, because it doesn't apply to section 25 that talks about the transfer of ammunition. So that point is moot.
A person selling ammunition must satisfy 25 of the
Firearms Act. So the person making the sale must be satisfied that the person being sold to has a PAL. There are many ways to that end. You could physically see it, see a photocopy of it, a scanned version of it, a Facetime of it, etc. Possibilities are pretty much endless.
Some have suggested that there is no punishment for possessing ammunition without a PAL. That is true.
But it is a regulated crime to sell ammunition to a person that is not licenced.
Criminal code:
Transfer without authority
101. (1) Every person commits an offence who transfers a firearm, a prohibited weapon, a restricted weapon, a prohibited device, any ammunition or any prohibited ammunition to any person otherwise than under the authority of the Firearms Act or any other Act of Parliament or any regulations made under an Act of Parliament.
Punishment
(2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1)
(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or
(b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 101;1991, c. 40, s. 13;1995, c. 39, s. 139.
As you saw, there is even a distinction between "any ammunition" and "prohibited ammunition". Which means that all ammunition is covered by this provision.
So yes, it is a crime. It's even a graver crime if you do that sale KNOWING that person does not have a PAL. If that's the case, the punishment under 99 is then a minimum of three years.
Personally, I find it kind of steep to risk on an erroneous interpretation of the law that I don't need to check or see the PAL of the person who I'm selling ammunition to.
Hope this helps.
