Firearms Prohibition Applications (Section 111)

A Prohibition Without a Criminal Charge

Most people know that a criminal conviction can come with a firearms ban. Fewer know that a court can prohibit a person from possessing firearms without any charge or conviction at all. Under section 111 of the Criminal Code, a police officer, firearms officer or Chief Firearms Officer can apply to a judge for an order barring someone from possessing firearms, ammunition and related items. The only question is safety.

These applications usually follow a police call, a family or community concern, a CFO investigation, or a criminal charge that was withdrawn or never laid. Since Bill C-21 received Royal Assent in December 2023, the Code also provides for emergency prohibition orders that any person can apply for, and for orders that limit a person’s access to firearms because someone they live with is prohibited.

For licensed owners, including hunters, sport shooters, farmers and collectors, a prohibition order means losing the licence, the firearms and, often, a long-standing way of life. This page explains how these applications work and how we respond to them. For an overview of licensing issues generally, see our firearms licensing hub.

How Prohibition Applications Work

Section 111: The Preventive Application

Under s. 111(1), a peace officer, firearms officer or CFO may apply to a provincial court judge where they believe on reasonable grounds that it is “not desirable in the interests of the safety” of the person, or of any other person, for the person to possess firearms, cross-bows, prohibited or restricted weapons, prohibited devices, firearm parts, ammunition, prohibited ammunition or explosive substances. The application goes to a provincial court judge where the person resides (s. 110.1(10)). In Ontario, that is the Ontario Court of Justice.

The judge sets a hearing date and directs notice (s. 111(2)), and must hear all relevant evidence from both sides (s. 111(3)). The hearing can proceed without you if you do not attend (s. 111(4)).

If the judge is satisfied the circumstances exist, the judge must make an order. The order can prohibit any or all of the listed items for up to five years from the day it is made (s. 111(5)). Reasons are required if the judge declines to make an order or makes a narrower one (s. 111(6)). The section does not spell out a standard of proof, but the applicant must prove its case with evidence, and you are entitled to answer it. The judge’s discretion over scope (which items) and duration (up to five years) is where much of the real argument happens.

Either you or the Attorney General can appeal an order to the superior court, and the Attorney General can appeal a refusal (s. 111(8)–(9)).

Emergency Orders: Sections 110.1 to 110.4

C-21 added the so-called “red flag” provisions. Under s. 110.1(1), any person (not only police) can apply ex parte, meaning without notice to you, for an emergency prohibition order. If the judge is satisfied the circumstances exist and that an order is needed without delay for someone’s immediate protection, the judge makes an order lasting no more than 30 days (s. 110.1(3)). The hearing can be held in private (s. 110.1(2)), and the applicant’s identity can be protected through sealing and redaction orders (ss. 110.2–110.3).

The judge can then set a hearing date for a full s. 111 application before the emergency order expires (s. 110.4). Where the original applicant was a private individual, the provincial Attorney General takes over as applicant (s. 110.4(2)(b)). Firearms taken under an emergency order are not forfeited (s. 115(1.1)). They must be returned once the order ends, if no s. 111 order follows, or if the order is revoked (s. 110.1(8)).

For many people, the first they hear of the process is being served with an emergency order. The full hearing that follows is the point to respond.

Limitations on Access: Section 117.011

Where a person lives with or associates with someone who is prohibited, and that prohibited person would or might have access to firearms, police or a CFO can apply under s. 117.011 for an order imposing terms on the non-prohibited person’s use and possession. An emergency, ex parte version lasting up to 30 days exists under s. 117.0101. In both cases, the judge must impose terms that are “the least intrusive as possible” (s. 117.011(6), s. 117.0101(5)). These applications often involve a spouse or parent with a PAL whose partner or adult child is under a prohibition. Carefully designed storage terms can meet the concern without taking anyone’s firearms.

Revoking an Order: Sections 112 and 117.012

You can apply to a provincial court judge to revoke an order under s. 110.1(3) or s. 111(5) if the circumstances that led to it “have ceased to exist” (s. 112). A parallel power applies to access-limitation orders (s. 117.012). Changes in health, treatment, living arrangements, or the outcome of a related criminal case can support a revocation application.

Orders at Sentencing: Sections 109 and 110

Prohibitions also follow conviction. Section 109 makes an order mandatory after a conviction or discharge for certain offences. These include indictable offences involving violence and carrying a maximum of ten years or more, indictable offences of violence against an intimate partner or family member, criminal harassment, listed firearms offences, and CDSA trafficking, importing and production offences. Section 110 requires the court to consider an order for other offences involving violence or weapons. A s. 110 order ends no later than ten years after release from imprisonment, conviction or discharge, but it can be for life where violence was used, threatened or attempted against an intimate partner or family member (s. 110(2.1)).

Sustenance and Employment: Section 113

Under s. 113(1), a court can authorize the CFO to issue a licence or authorization despite a prohibition. You must show that you need a firearm to hunt or trap to sustain yourself or your family, or that the order would be a “virtual prohibition against employment in the only vocation open to” you. The court must consider your criminal record, the circumstances of any offence, and safety (s. 113(2)). The order can be made during the proceedings for a s. 109, 110, 110.1, 111 or 117.05 order, or a bail or peace bond condition (s. 113(4)), so the request should be ready at the hearing.

What We Do

• Respond to s. 111 applications by police, firearms officers and CFOs
• Contest the full hearing after an emergency (red flag) order under s. 110.1
• Represent licensed household members facing limitations on access applications
• Bring s. 112 and s. 117.012 revocation applications
• Seek s. 113 sustenance and employment orders, including for Indigenous harvesters and rural workers
• Argue scope and duration of s. 109 and s. 110 orders at sentencing
• Appeal prohibition orders to the Superior Court of Justice

Our Approach

1. Test the Grounds

Section 111 applications often rest on hearsay: a relative’s report, an anonymous call or a note in a police database. We get the applicant’s materials, identify who actually saw or heard what, and challenge evidence that is unreliable, outdated or taken out of context.

2. Present the Person, Not the Incident

Judges decide these applications on the whole picture. Evidence of your history with firearms, your storage practices, current medical opinions where health is in issue, and witnesses who know you well can shift the result. We prepare that evidence properly and in advance.

3. Argue the Alternatives

Section 111(5) allows the judge to prohibit “any” of the listed things “or all such things,” for any period up to five years. Where an order is likely, we argue for narrower terms. That can mean a shorter duration, or a prohibition that does not reach items essential to your work, paired with a s. 113 order where the criteria fit.

4. Coordinate With Criminal and Licensing Proceedings

A s. 111 application often runs alongside a criminal charge, a seizure and forfeiture hearing under s. 117.05, or a CFO revocation that could go to a section 74 reference. Evidence you give in one can be used in another. We plan all of them together.

Collateral Consequences

• Your licence. Licences and certificates are revoked to the extent of the order (s. 116), and you are ineligible for a licence while the order is in force.
• Your firearms. Items covered by a s. 111 order are generally forfeited unless the order says otherwise (s. 115). Lawful third-party owners can apply for return under s. 117.
• Criminal exposure. Possessing prohibited items while an order is in force is an offence under s. 117.01, punishable by up to ten years on indictment.
• Your household. A prohibition can lead to an access-limitation application against others in the home.

Our firearms files are handled by Jaime Mor and Peter Kott.

Related Resources

• Firearms Licence Applications & Revocations: our overview of firearms licensing in Ontario
• Firearms Seizure & Forfeiture Hearings: s. 117.04 seizures and s. 117.05 disposition hearings
• Section 74 Reference Hearings: challenging a CFO refusal or revocation
• Bill C-21 Explained: the 2023 amendments, including emergency orders

If you have been served with a prohibition application or an emergency order, contact Mor Fisher LLP at 705-721-6642 or through our contact page to prepare for the hearing.