Whereas, more than two million licenced gun owners in Canada, individuals who have never done anything wrong but are tracked daily on CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre) and are required to report any change of address to the government within 30 days or face criminal charges with a maximum penalty of two years in jail;

And whereas, in his 2016 report to Parliament the RCMP Firearms Commissioner noted that between 2012 and 2016 there were 422,887 convicted criminals prohibited from owning firearms by the courts (Chart #4);

And whereas, these 422,887 convicted criminals, prohibited from owning firearms are not required to report their change of address to the government or police unless such an order was specifically stated as a part of their sentence by the courts;

And whereas, on November 24, 2004, Firearms Commissioner Bill Baker testified before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights: “On the change of address, if someone is prohibited from having a firearm in the country they are no longer effectively covered by the Firearms Act”;

And whereas, the 2014 Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) offender population profile, about eight out of 10 male and seven out of 10 female offenders have previous convictions. Therefore, statistically the 422,887 convicted criminals who have been prohibited from owning firearms should be a group that needs to be monitored closely because of their high risk to reoffend (i.e. acquire firearms illegally and use firearms in the commission of a subsequent offence) and because of their past firearms convictions they represent a higher risk to both police and public safety.

And whereas, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has opposed a similar petition introduced in the House of Commons and supported by 1,765 citizens of Canada:

We residents of Canada call on the Government to pass a motion making it mandatory for judges when imposing a firearms prohibition order, as part of a criminal sentence, a protection order or restraining order, also make it mandatory for these persons to report any change of address to police and this information be made available to police in a database on CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre).