Hypothetical gun abandonment question

[u/OCTS-Toronto]

I'm curious about the legal aspects of an abandoned restricted or prohibited firearm. If someone owned let's say an ar15 but went to live abroad for a while. They stored it at my house but then never returned. What is the legal status the the firearm? I would not have a registration certificate (in my name) and the owner can't be charged assuming they never return. Would I be in possession of an illegal firearm? If it was turned into the police and then the owner returned many years later would they be charged upon arrival with an offense?

Seems like lots of Canadians are leaving Canada lately and I wonder what happens if they don't live up to all the legislation on the way out.

[u/King_Merovingian]

Let’s look at it like this. If you borrowed your friends car to go to the store and it happened to be stolen. And let’s say on the way to said store you got stopped by the police. Being in care / possession of the stolen car makes it YOUR stolen ride and you get to eat all the charges. You could tell the police it came from your friend, all that would do is get you both charged and the police would let the courts sort it out.

So currently you’d probably eat a charge for possessing a prohibited unit. And since you can’t prove ownership…. The system would fuck with your life for a decade