Lyons v. Chief Firearms Officer (N.S.), (2000) 188 N.S.R.(2d) 52 (PC)

• Judge: Macdonald, J.
• Court: Provincial Court of Nova Scotia (Canada)
• Case Date: August 01, 2000
• Jurisdiction: Nova Scotia
• Citations: (2000), 188 N.S.R.(2d) 52 (PC)

Lyons v. Chief Firearms Officer (2000), 188 N.S.R.(2d) 52 (PC);

 587 A.P.R. 52

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2000] N.S.R.(2d) TBEd. SE.013

Leonard Patrick Lyons (applicant) v. The Chief Firearms Officer for Nova Scotia

(respondent)

Indexed As: Lyons v. Chief Firearms Officer (N.S.)

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

Macdonald, J.

August 16, 2000.

Summary:

Lyons applied for a firearm possession and acquisitions licence for a non-restricted firearm. The Chief Firearms Officer for Nova Scotia refused the application. Lyons referred the matter to a judge of the Provin­cial Court.

The Nova Scotia Provincial Court ordered the Chief Firearms Officer to issue the appropriate licence.

Criminal Law - Topic 1443

Offences against person and reputation - Firearms - General - Firearms acquisition certificate - Lyons applied for a firearm possession and acquisitions licence for a non-restricted firearm - The Chief Fire­arms Officer refused the application because of a "[h]istory of behaviour that include[d] violence" - Lyons referred the matter to a judge of the Provincial Court - The Nova Scotia Prov­incial Court stated that Lyons had the burden, under s. 75(3) of the Fire­arms Act (Can.), to persuade the court that the refusal was unjustified - Lyons' crimi­nal record included charges of mischief and breach of an undertaking respecting alco­hol consumption but did not include charges for assault or threats - Charges of uttering death threats had been dropped - Mrs. Lyons recanted her allegations of spousal abuse - Lyons had no mental or emotional problems and successfully com­pleted the Canadian Firearms Safety Course - The court held that Lyons sat­isfied the burden on him and ordered the Chief Firearms Officer to issue the appro­priate licence.

Cases Noticed:

Clark v. Chief Firearms Officer (Sask.) (1999), 188 Sask.R. 234 (Prov. Ct.), consd. [para. 24].

Statutes Noticed:

Firearms Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-11.6, sect. 75(2), sect. 75(3) [para. 25].

Counsel:

Howard MacKinnon, for the applicant;

Peter Rosinski, for the respondent.

Macdonald, J., of the Nova Scotia Provin­cial Court heard this matter on July 4 and August 1, 2000, and delivered the following decision on August 16, 2000.