r/canadaguns • u/GeneralMastodon9994 • Mar 11 '26

Application / Regulation advice Cons to having a PAL in Canada?

Hey everyone, I am considering getting the PAL license (restricted and non-restricted), and I wanted to ask if there are any cons to being a PAL holder in Canada?

Is it true that the government can pose you as a suspect if anything happens in the area where you live (firearm related) or just in general is it true that the government keeps an eye on you as a PAL holder?

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u/_Connor Mar 11 '26

PAL holders are statistically less likely to commit crimes in Canada than the general population so it would seem extremely odd to me that police would automatically be targeting you as a suspect if someone happened in your area.

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u/Financial_Initial_92 Mar 11 '26

Is this your opinion or fact? Please provide source.

5

u/_Connor Mar 11 '26

https://nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articles/law/opinion/2021/irrational-lawmaking

PAL holders less than half as likely to commit murder than the general population. Bunch of articles if you google it.

Gary Mauser (a prof at SFU) has an article about it that’s pretty easy to find.

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u/Financial_Initial_92 Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26

Thx :) Although the article states that “Crime statistics indicate that PAL holders are less than half as likely as the average Canadian to commit homicide.” Not crime in general. Just homicide.