Do I need a range membership?

[RangeBob]

During debate in the House, a government member stated that - should C-42 become law - there will no longer be any requirement to belong to an approved shooting club or range.

Are you sure?
I heard an MP say that if Bill C42 becomes law that there will no longer be any requirement to belong to an approved shooting range to transport a firearm there.
I did not hear an MP say that if Bill C42 becomes law that there will no longer be any requirement for a target shooter to belong to an approved shooting range to renew an RPAL.
I did not hear an MP say that if Bill C42 becomes law that there will no longer be any requirement for a target shooter to belong to an approved shooting range to purchase a restricted firearm.

John Barlow (con, alberta)

As a result of an authorization to transport being made a condition of a restricted licence, some people have asked whether it would be a requirement of getting a licence to be a member in good standing of a shooting club or shooting range. The clear answer to this is no. There would be no requirement in law for individuals to maintain a membership at a gun range in order to transport their restricted firearms.

May 25, 2015
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublicati...&Parl=41&Ses=2 &Language=E&Mode=1

Admittedly, politicians are not usually accurate in their statements, but that's what he said.


I have heard a lawyer say that that there has never been any requirement for a target shooter to belong to an approved shooting range to renew an RPAL or to purchase a restricted firearm.

[Wendell]

...that's what he said...

What I heard:

"...There would be no requirement in law for individuals to maintain a membership at a gun range in order to transport their restricted firearms."

Maybe that isn't what he meant.

...I have heard a lawyer say that that there has never been any requirement for a target shooter to belong to an approved shooting range to renew an RPAL or to purchase a restricted firearm.

The law requires the CFO to evaluate whether the restricted firearm(s) are actually being used for the stated purpose; if the stated purpose is "target shooting", the individual must be prepared to prove to the CFO his/her participation in target shooting. As we all know, the CFP has required the respective CFOs to require membership in at least one approved shooting club, but, in the case of a bonafide target shooter - as (Saint John) Jon Gould's court case proved - membership in an approved shooting club isn't actually required by law.

P.S.: I can't find a transcript of the Gould case...do any of you have a link to it?

[Wendell]

P.S.: I can't find a transcript of the Gould case...do any of you have a link to it?

Here it is:

Gould v. New Brunswick (Chief Firearms), 2008 NBPC 24 (CanLII)
<http://canlii.ca/t/1x0m6>
retrieved on 2015-05-31