They’re back! The saga of the Swiss Arms and Cz858 in Canada has finally come to a close. A year ago it looked like these rifles were about to be banned and seized, but that decision has finally been reversed. Here’s a timeline of the highlights and a gallery of the firearms in question

• Feb 26th 2014 – RCMP Reclassifies the Cz858 and Swiss Arms rifles to prohibited status. These firearms have been imported for 12 years are there are millions of dollars worth in the hands of owners.
• March 19th 2014 – The Public Safety Minister introduces an Amnesty to ensure that owners will not be prosecuted. Rifles cannot be bought, sold, or freely transported. It will later be amended to allow shooting at government approved ranges.

• Winter 2014 – Bill C42 is Developed and Introduced:
  • Give and Take Legislation
  • Pre-licensing Safety and Training course is now a mandatory number of classroom hours.
  • Stiffens firearms ownership bans for domestic abusers.
  • Authorizations to Transport Restricted Firearms will no longer be distinct documents, instead they’ll be integrated into an owner’s license.
  • The Cz858 and Swiss Arms rifles are restored to their restricted and non-restricted status.
  • Enhanced oversight of Provincial Chief Firearms officers. In the past your conditions of transport or wait times on purchasing a handgun could vary widely between provinces.
  • June 18th 2015 – C42 is granted royal assent and formally becomes law.
  • July 31st 2015 – Rifles return to former status. Owners can now hunt and target shoot freely. These can now be bought, sold, and imported again.
  • Sept 2nd 2015 – ATT changes are scheduled to come into effect, removing some paperwork from the transport of all handguns, AR-15s and SBRs in Canada.