Believe that outdated. Used to be a Bylaw preventing the sale and storage of airguns In Halifax. Which I think is the one that person is quoting from the 60s. When I searched a couple years ago, couldn't find it anymore.
Air Guns in HRM By John Fraser, Halifax Wildlife Association
April 11, 2013
Do you believe that you have a good understanding of the laws and regulations that apply to the use of air guns in the HRM? You may be surprised to learn about the many changes that have taken place in the past few years.
Some folks believe that you are not allowed to own an air gun in HRM. Not true. Some may believe that you are not permitted to use an air gun in HRM. Again, not true. Some may believe that air guns are treated just like a firearm. In fact this is partially true as air gun use in HRM now falls under the Firearms Act.
Prior to amalgamation of Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and the County of Halifax into the Halifax Regional Municipality, each of the former municipalities had their own municipal ordinances and by-laws that regulated the use of air guns in one way or another:
Former City of Halifax
Ordinance 159 – Discharge of Guns and Other Firearms
Former City of Dartmouth
By-Law A-300 – Air Guns and Rifles
By-Law F-300 – Firearms
Former Town of Bedford
By-Law 22141 – Discharge of Firearms
Former County
Section 5 & 5A – Air Guns and Sling Shots
Section 6 – Firearms
If you were a resident of one of these areas you may have had some knowledge of the applicable laws of the day. However, following amalgamation a By-Law Rationalization Working Group recommended in a staff report dated December 28, 2005 (
http://halifax.ca/co...00Nuisances.pdf ) that a new By-Law N-300, Respecting Nuisances be approved. The Council meeting of August 7, 2007 passed the new By-Law (
http://halifax.ca/co.../070807ca93.pdf) thereby repealing all previous municipal by-laws that dealt with the discharge of firearms and the possession, use and sale of air rifles and pellet guns. The new by-law essentially repealed all of the above bylaws and ordinances and replaced it with … nothing.
Why nothing? Well, apparently HRM Council accepted a recommendation from the HRM police that the Criminal Code of Canada, and the Nova Scotia Wildlife Act together gave them all the authority that they needed to adequately deal with any issues that might surface in regards to the use of air guns in the municipality.
The major problem seems to be that very little information about this decision by Council got out to either the public or the policing authorities in HRM. A call by this writer to the HRM police department office to enquire about the rules that must be followed respecting air guns was met with a response that it is the position of the HRM Police that all BB guns and air guns are illegal to purchase or possess in HRM and they can be confiscated by police and the possessor charged.
When pressured to provide the governing laws upon which this position was based I was referred to a more senior officer who reiterated the earlier position that air guns are illegal in HRM and will be confiscated. When I pointed out that municipal bylaws regarding air guns had been repealed, the officer had no knowledge of that fact and felt that in any case the police were instead enforcing provincial regulations. But when pressured, the officer was unable to quote the relevant regulations giving them that authority.
After some more enquiries I was referred to police Superintendent Falkenham, officer-in-charge of Integrated Emergency Services (IES), who in turn referred me to Sergeant Tim Moser, police coordinator with the Provincial Firearms Office. Sgt. Moser offered a number of clarifications of what laws govern policing of air guns in HRM and indicated that there remain some grey areas. He also indicted that he regularly has had to advise police officers to return air guns that they had seized under Bylaw provisions that no longer exist and to drop the associated charges.
Both the Criminal Code of Canada and the Federal Firearms Legislation govern the possession and use of air guns in HRM. There is a great deal of difference in treatment under these laws based on whether the matter is a simple possession offence or a use offence for which charges are being brought forward. Very helpful information on the treatment of air guns can be found on the RCMP website at:
http://www.rcmp-grc....rme_air-eng.htm.
Basically, air guns with both a high muzzle velocity (greater than 152.4 meters or 500 feet per second) and a high muzzle energy (greater than 5.7 joules or 4.2 foot-pounds) – generally known as high-powered air guns – are treated as firearms for purposes of both the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code. The owner must meet the same firearms training and licensing requirements (POL; PAL) as for a conventional firearm and are also required to store, transport, display and handle them safely in accordance with the regulations supporting the Firearms Act. High-powered air rifles are classified as non-restricted firearms. High-powered air pistols are classified as restricted if their barrel is longer than 105 mm or prohibited if their barrel length is 105 mm or less.
Air guns with a maximum muzzle velocity of 152.4 meters or 500 feet per second and/or a maximum muzzle energy of 5.7 joules or 4.2 foot pounds are deemed under most circumstances to not be firearms and therefore are exempt from licensing, registration, and other requirements under the Firearms Act, and from penalties set out in the Criminal Code for possessing a firearm without a valid licence or registration certificate. However, they are considered to be firearms under the Criminal Code if they are used to commit a crime. Further, the Criminal Code requires that reasonable precautions be taken to use, carry, handle, store, transport, and ship them in a safe and secure manner.
You should be aware that air guns that are not powerful enough to cause serious injury or death, but that were designed to resemble a real firearm with near precision are known as replica firearms. Replica firearms, except for replicas of antique firearms, are classified as prohibited devices, meaning that as an individual, you cannot import or acquire a replica firearm. You may keep any that you owned on December 1, 1998. You do not need a licence to possess them and they do not need to be registered. If you take a replica firearm out of Canada, you will not be able to bring it back in. Many Airsoft guns that are commonly available are highly detailed replicas of real lethal weapons and fall into this prohibited category.
Air guns that are not powerful enough to be classified as firearms and that do not resemble a real firearm closely enough to be considered a replica (an example would be a harmless air gun made out of clear plastic or a device that is obviously a child’s toy) generally fall within the definition of an “imitation firearm”. They are, however, subject to some penalties under the Criminal Code if used to commit a crime. Also, you need to be aware of the pigs eye criteria.
Tests carried out by the Forensic Laboratory Services-Firearms Section, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in Regina, Saskatchewan, have established minimum velocity necessary for nonconventional projectiles to penetrate the eye – something known as the pig eye criteria based on the material used in tests that were performed.
To satisfy the Criminal Code of Canada’s definition of a firearm, a barreled weapon must be capable of causing serious bodily injury or death to a person. Canadian courts have accepted the forensically established criteria of “penetration or rupture of an eye” as serious bodily injury. The minimal velocity of nonconventional ammunition required to penetrate the eye, including airsoft projectiles, had not previously been established. To establish the minimal threshold requirements for eye penetration, empirical tests were conducted using a variety of airsoft projectiles. Using the data obtained from these tests, and previous research using “air gun” projectiles, an “energy density” parameter was calculated for the minimum penetration threshold of an eye. Airsoft guns capable of achieving velocities in excess of 99 m/s (325 ft/s) using conventional 6-mm airsoft ammunition will satisfy the forensically established criteria of “serious bodily injury”, meaning they are considered firearms. The energy density parameter for typical 6-mm plastic airsoft projectiles is 4.3 to 4.8 J/cm². This calculation also encompasses 4.5-mm steel BBs such as are fired from typical BB guns.
In conclusion, you can own and use air guns within HRM but you should do so with a clear understanding of all the rules that govern them. Federal Firearms Act and Criminal Code rules have been discussed above, but in addition you should pay attention to the NS Wildlife Act and Regulations made under that act in respect to when, where and how you use your air gun. Finally, always use your air gun with the highest degree of safety in mind. Should an air gun – even one that is not high powered – cause a serious injury (such as eye damage) then the matter will be treated as a firearms related incident under the Criminal Code
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