Bylaw No. 114-95
Discharge of Firearms Regulation By-law
Consolidated and printed by authority of the Corporate Officer under section 139 of the Community Charter. Includes amendment bylaws 3063-2020 . Last amended August 31, 2020
| Contents | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 Citation | ||
| 2 Interpretation | ||
| 3 Applicability | ||
| 4 Prohibition to discharge firearms | ||
| 5 Unqualified prohibition 100 m from public places | ||
| 6 Exceptions | ||
| 7 Repealed | ||
| 8 Repeals bylaw | ||
| Schedule "A" | ||
WHEREAS, under the Municipal Act, the Council may, by by-law, applicable throughout the municipality or in any defined area of it, regulate or prohibit the discharging of firearms, including air guns, air rifles, air pistols, and spring guns, and regulate or prohibit the use of bows as defined in the Wildlife Act;
NOW THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Abbotsford, in open meeting assembled, ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
Interpretation
2 In this by-law, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Firearms" means a rifle, pistol, or shotgun, and includes air guns, air rifles, air pistols, and spring guns, but does not include weapons used for the discharge of blank ammunition in connection with an athletic or sporting event;
"Public Highway" means a highway as defined by the Municipal Act.
Applicability
3 The provisions of this by-law shall not apply to Peace Officerand Conservation Officers as defined by the Wildlife Act, who use firearms in the line of duty.
Prohibition to discharge firearms
4 (1) Subject to Sections 5 and 6, no person shall discharge any firearms:
(a) within the limits of those areas shown as "closed to discharge of " on Schedule "A" attached hereto, and forming part of, this by-law;
(b) utilizing a single projectile anywhere within the municipal boundaries of the City of Abbotsford.
Unqualified prohibition 100 m from public places
5 Subject to Section 6, no person shall discharge, within the limits of the City of Abbotsford, any firearms within 100 metres of any:
(j) other place where persons may be assembled or engaged in work of any kind.
Exceptions
6 (a) Subject to the Firearm Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, the Wildlife Act, and regulations thereto, a person may discharge a firearm within the City if:
(i) An ownerowner or occupierCommunity Charter of land or an employee of the owner or occupier shoots at wildlife on his property which is a menace to a domestic animal or bird.
(ii) That person is an owner or occupier of land, or an employee of an owner or occupier of land, or a person with the permission of the owner or occupier of the land to discharge a firearm on the land, that person is exempt from Section 5 (g) and (h).
(iii) An owner or occupier of land or an employee of the owner or occupier discharges a firearm on the land for the purpose of slaughtering livestock, that person is exempt from Section 5 (g) and (h) and the Wildlife Act, insofar as that Act requires a license to hunt or carry a firearm; and
(iv) That person is shooting on a pistol, rifle, trap, or skeet shooting range or in competitive sport events duly authorized by a permit.
(b) If wildlife has been shot at and wounded by a person for a purpose described in subsection (i) or (ii), nothing in those subsections relieves that person from complying with the relevant provisions of the Wildlife Act concerning the retrieval of killed wildlife.
Repeals bylaw
8 District of Matsqui By-law No. 2170, cited as "Discharge of Firearms Regulation By-law", as amended, is hereby repealed.
