mustad

After speaking with and reviewing the website of the Canadian Firearms Centre, I aproached Canadian customs in Stanstead, QC last week with my three firearms.

According to CFC, I (American citizen) am allowed to bring a firearm over the border for a few reasons; one of which is target shooting. Customs insisted that I must be involved in a competition and have written proof that I will be partaking in this competition and refused entry of my firearms.

After finding a location in VT to store my firearms for the week, I had a long talk with some customs agents on my return. They informed me that if I had a license called a AAAT, that I would be permitted to bring my firearms over the border (outside of what is allowed otherwise... hunting, competition, protection against wild animals, transit). The CFC states that there is a license they provide called a PAL (Posession and Acquisition License) that would enable me to do this.

Is this the right approach? Is the AAAT a license? I could not find it neither when searching the site(s) in english nor in french.

Is there anybody out there that could help me understand the reality of this situation? I spend a great deal of time in Quebec for other reasons than hunting (family). Due to this confusion and what appears to me to be multiple interpretations of the same law, approaching the border has become a frustrating and unpredictable event. I have absolutely no issue with any laws in Canada, but I am just unsure what is what and would greatly appreciate leveraging any experience from others.

Cheers

gopher slayer

I'm afraid i cant be of much help but I have never herd of a AAAT but a PAL is needed to purchase firearms there is also a POL Posession only licence which lets you buy ammo and own a gun but not to buy another gun. the POL is only for people that didnt have recent records when they brought the resistration in. if you go for a licence you get a PAL. to get a PAL it is a simple 50 question test that you must get 70% or higher on and a small practial. the practail is just stuff like how to cross fence properly how to check you gun to make sure its unloaded. you can just challenge it and take the test and not take a course, but there is course that you can take. there is a book avaliable with all teh saftey information that is on the test. I'm not sure if this is the same for out of country residents. sorry i couldnt be of more help.

TerryM

Never heard of a AAAT but I do know that Americans can get a PAL which is a POSSESION AND AQUISITION license. That would be your best solution if you plan on bringing firearms into Canada on a regular basis. Also, remember the only way to bring in a handgun is if you are going to a sanctioned shoot at a registered handgun club. General travel in Canada other than to the range holding that shoot is illegal and will land you in jail! So best not bother with handguns.

mustad

Thanks guys... I appreciate the help.

I think the PAL will be the right approach.

I have no handguns, or any unrestricted firearms, so there shouldn't be an issue (fingers crossed).

According to the research I saw, there are no more new POL's being provided as the process was simplified only to make the PAL's available (good idea if you ask me).

I'm going to go ahead and take the class, more to see if I can meet some people. Plus, the money goes to fish and wildlife restoration programs anyways so it's a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks again for the help.

Cheers

Jeff Ovington

I being a proud Canadian am very sorry about your predicament Mustad.
I am just as confused about our laws as you people to the south.
We Canadian Tax payers have spent over 1 Billion dollars just in so called
Gun Controll in the Legislative Gov trying in an effort to get Canadians to Register their firearms.
This hasn't worked so far and there seems to be no end in the spending
either.
Therfore I give up !!!
If the Fed Gov is going to be this stobborn and not addmit this idea was a complete failure,I'll give it to them with both barrels and really cost them some money.
I thinking of registering my 3 caulking guns several nail guns staple guns.
Really make a mess

timberlord

It is confusing and thats the way this Liberal govt works . Their ploy works on this rule of thumb : If ya can't dazzle 'em with brilliance , baffle 'em with bull$$$t .
With the current rules and reg's , I won't even try to cross the border anymore . I had alot of good times in the past shooting comp's in Michigan ,years ago , with never a worry or hassle at the border .
I don't mind the PAL system , but this registration crap is good for only one thing , which is for big brother's use . A $ billion $ ??...yeah right....it was only supposed to cost $2mil at first ...another rip-off
AdScam is only the tip of the iceburg .

Cowboy Al

I remember when the Canadian government rolled out there "vision" for gun control. It was only supposed to cost $500,000, I remember calling in to a local talk show that had the Hon. Allan Rock on then, he was in charge of setting up the gun registry, I told him there was no way they could set it up for that little $, and that it wouldn't deter criminals. He laughed off my comments talking "down" to me like only those pompass jacka$$e$ can. Now it's up over 2 billion and counting and the only thing it does is stop dollars in tourism coming up from the US and overseas, and makes criminals out of honest regular "joes". I hope there is an easy solution for getting your guns up from the US, but if the Canadian gov is involved it won't be easy, that I can bet.
I would like to go down into the US to hunt turkeys ( I live in Alberta), what hoops do I have to jump through to bring my shotgun into the US?

mustad

Hi Cowboy Al,

Here is a website that shows the process of bringing a firearm into the US...

http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#a15


Cheers

Furync

Heyas,

I'm a resident of canadia aswell. Our firearm laws are just way too confusing and even the ones enforcing dont understand it...

I've never heard of a AAAT but there used to be something called a AAAF for us french canadians, and this was the way to go before the PAL. AAAF means Autorisation d'Aquisition d'Arme a feu, which translates to a FAA ( Firearms Aquisition Authorisation) (i think)
But that's long gone even tho I still have my card.

And about bringing guns to the US, My uncle lives in tenessee and can kill legally 45 deer per season, I dream of going there but I dont think my gun will ever make it across the border. I had my .22 fixed recently and sent it to remington (the one in the US, i thought) So when i called customer service in the US they strongly advised me to have the courrier stopped before the gun would reach the states, because once it crosses, it's very hard to get it back.
The person I was talking to told be it takes allmost 1 year to get your guns back after crossing the border with them. I dont know why but... I think I'll leave my guns on this side of the border. Oh, btw: my gunsmith had sent my gun to Toronto, not US.


laters

mustad

So I just finished taking the test yesterday. Everything was very straight foward as you said. I must admit that I was very impressed with everything covered in this test/course. Also, the instructors were very helpful in making sure everybody understood the safe handling, operations, transportation, storage, maintenance, etc... of firearms. I would question how well information crammed into the brain over an 8 hour period effectively gets stored, but at the very least it is a solid foundation. This is not something I have seen offered in the states (at least not in New England to this extent).

I believe I have also found one reason these gun control laws have spiraled associated cost. In looking at this process, there is an incredible amount of redundancy. Just take my case, my end goal is to have a PAL. In doing so, I need to accomplish two things... take/pass the CFSC and apply for my PAL. In both cases, there is a tremendous amount of data entry... both examples entereing in much of the same data. Also, in both cases there is a background check to be done on me to determine if I have a criminal record. My bet is that in just those two items, there will be 2-4 people doing the exact same thing as each other.

Leaving the debate as to whether the concept of gun control is effective aside, it would be very interesting to see some analysis and process reorganization take place to make the administrative aspects of these laws operate more effectively.

Thanks for all your advice