The HPS is making a concerted effort to encourage people with expired firearms licences and revoked registration certificates to comply with current legislation and once again be in a legal position to possess their firearms.
Over the last few weeks, officers from the Firearms Section of the HPS have taken possession of 30 prohibited and restricted handguns from owners who had allowed their firearms licences to expire.
The maximum penalty for unauthorized possession of a firearm is five years of imprisonment. Once advised of the legal repercussions of their situation, owners must immediately decide whether to surrender the handguns for temporary storage and/or Disposal after 90 days, while increasing their efforts to comply with one of the options available to them.
In all cases, letters have previously been sent to these individuals by the Canadian Firearms Registry, as well as by the HPS firearms officer, advising them of their situation and options, which include:
According to the HPS, this crackdown is intended to urge all the non-compliant individuals in the Hamilton region to comply, of their own accord, with legislation or face the consequences should they continue to take no action.
There is currently an amnesty in force to help ensure that non-restricted firearm owners who take steps to comply with the Firearms Act by obtaining a licence and/or a registration certificate, will not be criminally prosecuted for the related offences as outlined in the Criminal Code. This amnesty for long guns has been extended until May 16, 2009. This is not an extension for further procrastination by long gun owners and HPS suggests owners attend the firearms counter at Central Station in order to pick up the Firearms Licence Application Forms for a new Possession Only Licence. There is no cost involved for those individuals whose Firearms Licences have expired since 2004. Applications for PAL's are also available.
Anyone in possession of unwanted firearms is asked to contact Hamilton Police at 905-546-4978. Anyone with information on an illegal gun or a criminal act involving a gun can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
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