Derek McDowell (Labour)

I am not hostile to this amendment and it is not a question of being right or wrong on this issue. Section 30 and section 4 of the principal Act should be examined together. Section 4(1) provides that an "issuing person shall not grant a firearms certificate unless he or she is satisfied that the applicant complies with the conditions referred to in subsection (2) and will continue to comply with them during the currency of the certificate". The onus, therefore, is on the applicant to ensure the issuing person — usually the local superintendent — is satisfied that the former complies with the conditions set out in subsection (2).

Subsection (2)(b) provides that one of the conditions that must be satisfied before a firearm certificate may be granted is that, in the opinion of the issuing person, "the applicant can be permitted to possess, use and carry the firearm and ammunition without danger to the public safety or security or the peace". A superintendent is positively prohibited from issuing a firearm to any person unless the latter can ensure the superintendent is satisfied in this regard.

"The peace" is a broadly defined concept. Consider the case, for example, of a person who has made appalling threats to a neighbour in the course of a land dispute. The person making the threats might be psychiatrically normal but simply a bad piece of work, like the Bull McCabe in "The Field". It is not necessary to pronounce a person such as the Bull McCabe as mad or suffering from a psychiatric disorder before he can be refused a firearm certificate. The local superintendent is prohibited from issuing a certificate unless the applicant ensures the former is satisfied that there is no danger to public safety, public security or the peace. There is a broadly based onus on the applicant to ensure the superintendent is satisfied in this regard.