Bill C-278

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46 Elizabeth II, 1997
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-278
	An Act to provide for the expiry of gun control legislation that is not proven effective within five years of coming into force
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
Definitions	1. The definitions in this section apply in this Act.
``firearm'' « arme à feu »	``firearm'' has the meaning given to it by the Criminal Code.
``gun control provision'' « disposition législative sur les armes à feu »	``gun control provision'' means a provision of the Criminal Code, the Firearms Act or any other Act of Parliament that provides for or controls the manufacture, modification, im portation, storage, distribution, sale, own ership, possession or use of a firearm, but does not include a provision related to the use of a firearm in the commission of an in dictable offence.
``Minister'' « ministre »	``Minister'' means the Minister of Justice.
Expiry of provisions	2. Notwithstanding any other Act of Parliament, every gun control provision expires five years from the later of
	(a) the day it came into force, and
	(b) January 1, 1999,
	unless prior to that date
	(c) the Auditor General has prepared and caused to be laid before both Houses of Parliament a report on whether the provision and the way in which it has been administered has been a successful and cost-effective use of public funds to achieve an increase in public safety and a reduction in the incidence of violent crime involving the use of firearms;
	(d) the report of the Auditor General has been considered by a review committee appointed by the Minister pursuant to section 3;
	(e) the review committee has reviewed and reported to the House of Commons on the success and cost-effectiveness of the provision during the time it has been in force, and the committee has reported the extent to which
	(i) public safety has been increased or decreased,
	(ii) the incidence of violent crime related to the use of firearms has been reduced or increased, and
	(iii) cost-effective use of public funds has been made to achieve a demonstrated increase in public safety or a reduction in the incidence of violent crime involving the use of firearms; and
	(f) the House of Commons has passed a resolution concurring in the report of the review committee.
Review committee	3. (1) A review committee shall consist of members appointed by the Minister as follows:
	(a) three members of the House of Com mons nominated by the government party;
	(b) two members of the House of Commons nominated by the official opposition party;
	(c) one member of the House of Commons nominated by each recognized party in the House of Commons; and
	(d) other members nominated by the members referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), and who are persons knowledgeable in the areas of firearms control law, recreational firearms ownership and use, criminology, Canadian and foreign firearms control and crime statistics, firearms control costing, constitutional law and other such areas of expertise as the committee may require.
Chairperson and Vice- Chairperson	(2) A review committee shall at its first meeting elect a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson.
Provincial public hearings	(3) A review committee must hold at least one public hearing in each province.
Delay to make amendments	4. Where a gun control provision is to expire as a result of section 2, the Governor in Council may, by order, defer its expiry for a period not exceeding one year if the provision contains matters that do not relate to gun control and if a deferral is necessary in order for Parliament to pass legislation to continue the other matters in force after the expiry of the gun control provision.
Coming into force	5. This Act comes into force on January 1, 1999.

Bill C-278

BILL C-278