Reports and Publications

Audit Reports

Review of the Personal
Information Handling Practices
of the Canadian Firearms
Program

Department of Justice Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Final Report - August 29, 2001

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Table of Contents

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• REVIEW
  • BACKGROUND
  • SCOPE OF REVIEW
• PROGRAM PROFILE
  • AUTHORITY and MANDATE
  • ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PRINCIPAL PARTNERS
    • Department of Justice Canada (DOJ)
    • Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
    • Chief Firearms Officers (CFOs)
    • Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA)
  • PERSONAL INFORMATION HOLDINGS
    • Canadian Firearms Registration System (CFRS)
    • Canadian Firearms Registry On-line (CFRO)
    • Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC)
    • Police Information Retrieval System (PIRS)
    • Provincial and Municipal Police Information Retrieval Systems
    • Firearms Interest Police (FIP)
    • Hardcopy Records
• FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS - PART I
  • ACCESS & CORRECTION
    • Personal Information Request Protocol
    • Personal Information Banks in InfoSource
  • COLLECTION
    • Police Information Retrieval System (PIRS)
    • Provincial and Municipal Police Information Retrieval Systems
    • Firearms Interest Police (FIP)
    • Social Insurance Number (SIN)
    • Collection from Credit Reporting Agencies
    • Telephone Monitoring at the Central Processing Site (CPS)
    • Information Obtained from Former Spouses
  • DISCLOSURE
    • Disclosure to Employers
    • Disclosure to Local Police Agencies
    • Disclosure to Chief Firearms Officers
    • Disclosure to Public through Appeal Process
  • PROTECTION & SECURITY
    • Verifiers' Expanded Role
  • RETENTION & DISPOSAL
• FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS - PART II
  • PERSONAL HISTORY QUESTIONS ON THE FIREARMS LICENCE APPLICATION FORM
• APPENDIX A - Summary of Recommendations for Parts I and II
• APPENDIX B - Complaints under the Privacy Act
• APPENDIX C - Standard Compliance Review Objectives and Criteria
• APPENDIX D - Summary of Key Statistics - Firearms Program
• APPENDIX E - Highlights of Firearms Act and its Regulations
• APPENDIX F - Privacy and Access Legislation in Provinces & Territories
• APPENDIX G - Memoranda of Understanding (Service Agreements)
• APPENDIX H - Outstanding Issues
  • Personal information handling practices by the CCRA
  • Outsourcing
  • International information sharing agreements
• APPENDIX I - Firearms Licence Application Form
• APPENDIX J - List of Studies Reviewed
• APPENDIX K - Breakdown of Questions 19(d) to (f)

Glossary of Acronyms

AFO	Area Firearms Officer
CCRA	Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
CFC	Canadian Firearms Centre
CFO	Chief Firearms Officer
CFR	Canadian Firearms Registry
CFRO	Canadian Firearms Registry Online
CFRS	Canadian Firearms Registration System
CPIC	Canadian Police Information Centre
CPS	Central Processing Site
DOJ	Department of Justice Canada
FAC	Firearms Acquisition Certificate
FIP	Firearms Interest Police
FO	Firearms Officer
FRT	Firearms Reference Table
IT	Information Technology
LFO	Local Firearms Officer
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding
NPS	National Police Services
NPSN	National Police Services Network
OPP	Ontario Provincial Police
ORI	Originating Agency
OSR	Operational Statistical Reporting System
PAL	Possession and Acquisition Licence
POL	Possession-Only Licence
PFO	Provincial Firearms Officer
PIRS	Police Information Retrieval System
QPS	Québec Processing Site
RCMP	Royal Canadian Mounted Police
RWRS	Restricted Weapons Registration System
UCR	Uniform Crime Reporting

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