Vol. 148, No. 9 — April 23, 2014

Registration

SOR/2014-92 April 10, 2014

EXPORT AND IMPORT PERMITS ACT

Order Amending the Automatic Firearms Country Control List

P.C. 2014-436 April 10, 2014

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to sections 4.1 (see footnote a) and 6 (see footnote b) of the Export and Import Permits Act (see footnote c), makes the annexed Order Amending the Automatic Firearms Country Control List.

ORDER AMENDING THE AUTOMATIC FIREARMS COUNTRY CONTROL LIST

AMENDMENT

1. The Automatic Firearms Country Control List (see footnote 1) is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

COMING INTO FORCE

2. This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Background

The Export and Import Permits Act (EIPA) requires that prior to a shipment a person obtain an export permit, issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, should they wish to export from Canada an item which is included on the Export Control List (ECL). Applications to export goods or technology listed on the ECL are reviewed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the proposed export is consistent with Canada’s foreign and defence policies. Section 4.1 of the EIPA further establishes that only those countries that have concluded an intergovernmental defence, research, development, and production arrangement with Canada are eligible to be included on the Automatic Firearms Country Control List (AFCCL). There are currently 34 countries listed on the AFCCL, consisting of all 27 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, Australia, Botswana, Colombia, Finland, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden.

Issues

The EIPA places very strict controls on the export of certain prohibited firearms, prohibited weapons and prohibited devices (as defined in the Criminal Code), and components or parts of such items, examples of which include fully automatic firearms, electric stun guns and large-capacity magazines. In order to export such items, an exporter must obtain an export permit. Applications for export permits to export these items are only considered for countries on the AFCCL. The amendment seeks to expand the AFCCL to include Chile and Peru.

Objectives

Description

The amendment to the AFCCL will add Chile and Peru to the list of countries that the Governor in Council deems appropriate to export certain prohibited firearms, prohibited weapons and prohibited devices, and their components or parts. The inclusion of Chile and Peru on the AFCCL does not guarantee that the Minister of Foreign Affairs will issue an export permit for the export of these items, and all applications will remain subject to the Government of Canada’s case-by-case review process.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to these amendments, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to these amendments as there are no costs on small business.

Consultation

Officials within the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) and other Government of Canada departments have been consulted. While some concerns were raised, these concerns could be addressed by Canada’s export permit process, as individual export permit applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account Canada’s defence and foreign policies.

Public web-based consultations regarding the possible addition of Chile and Peru were held in July and August 2013 by DFATD. There were three responses, one in support of the proposed additions, one containing a general declaration of concern with Chile and Peru being added to the AFCCL, and a third raising a specific concern regarding Peru. The latter concern noted in the public consultation is the potential risk of diversion of small arms and light weapons to illegal armed groups in Peru.

The Government of Canada is of the view that despite the existence of some risk, the Government of Peru has made some excellent progress in recent years with regards to improving its control and tracking of its arms stockpiles. Progress includes becoming a member of two international export control and non-proliferation regimes, and reporting all transfers of small arms and light weapons to the appropriate United Nations authorities. Canada recently signed a Defence Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding with Peru which signals both Governments’ interests in working to deepen cooperation in policy, peace and humanitarian operations and military education and training. Peru has approached Canada to improve military cooperation in such areas as anti-terrorism and anti-narcotics.

The consultation process took all comments into account and concluded with the Government of Canada determining that both countries are appropriate destinations for inclusion on the AFCCL. As stated previously, the addition of a country to the AFCCL does not guarantee that an export permit will be issued. All applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, including a review of any risk of diversion of arms.

Rationale

The EIPA forbids exports from Canada of certain prohibited firearms, prohibited weapons, and prohibited devices to any destination not listed on the AFCCL. Adding Chile and Peru to the AFCCL allows residents of Canada, as defined under the EIPA, to submit export permit applications for the export of such items to these countries.

Chile and Peru’s addition to the AFCCL opens new market opportunities by providing residents of Canada with the opportunity to explore and compete for contracts in these countries for items controlled under the AFCCL.

Every export permit application will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account Canada’s defence and foreign policies.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

All items listed on the ECL, including the certain prohibited firearms, prohibited weapons and prohibited devices to which the AFCCL refers, are subject to export permit requirements, unless otherwise stated. Failure to comply with the EIPA, or its related regulatory or other requirements, may lead to prosecution. The Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are responsible for the enforcement of export controls.

Contact

Mark Richards
Trade Policy Analyst
Export Controls Division (TIE)
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2
Telephone: 613-944-8947
Email: mark.richards@international.gc.ca