Actually, General, I have come to the conclusion that, notwithstanding their idiocy, Canadian gun laws are less restrictive than such U.S. jusisdictions as California and New Jersey ...... Admittedly, there are a bunch of expensive bureaucratic requirements for licensing of gun owners and registration of most firearms (which any halfwit must admit are entirely ineffective in accomplishing their purported "gun control" goals) but provided we "jump through the hoops" we can acquire and use most firearms. There are certainly no numerical limits imposed on us like our fellow members of the British commonwealth in places like the U.K. and Australia.
One excellent example provisions which seem to defy common sense are those relating to "Antique" firearms. Keep in mind that, if a firearm qualifies for "antique status" up here, it is completely exempt from any requirement for registration and its owner need not be licensed, so it will definitely not be "in the system" for purposes of "gun control" .... Even though Canada introduced a rquirement to register all handguns way back in the 1930's, the new rules have resulted in numerous handguns being "de-registered" because they now qualify as "antique". That definition extends to any handgun manufactured before 1898, including a "cartridge" firearm, unless it:
- can discharge only rim-fire cartridges, other than 22 Calibre Short, 22 Calibre Long or 22 Calibre Long Rifle cartridges;
- can discharge centre-fire cartridges, other than a handgun designed or adapted to discharge 32 Short Colt, 32 Long Colt, 32 Smith and Wesson, 32 Smith and Wesson Long, 32-20 Winchester, 38 Smith and Wesson; 38 Short Colt, 38 Long Colt, 38-40 Winchester, 44-40 Winchester, or 45 Colt cartridges.
Now, I assume that this was someone's idea of listing "commonly and/or commercially available cartridges" (i.e. with the idea that it wouldn't be necessary to register guns that old unless they could fire the listed cartridges) but as you will note on a moment's reflection, the list is not extensive and misses many very effective cartridges that a pre-1898 handgun could well be chambered for, which are still commercially available and/or easily reloadable! A prime example is the .455 Webley/Eley/Colt family of cartridges.
In the result, it has become something of a "cottage industry" up here seeking out suitable handguns in less common chamberings so that they can be legally owned without registration. For the most part, this is being done by legitimate gunowners who just want to avoid the hassle of licensing and registration, but I fear the day when the "ethnic gangs" and such discover this 'loophole', because it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the result would be ....