Question Period Note: RESPONSE TO THE FIREARMS AUDIT

• The safety of government employees and the public is a top priority and Fisheries and Oceans Canada is addressing the findings and recommendations of its internal audit on the Management of Firearms.
• The Department already has strong controls in place and will ensure those controls will be applied across the Department.
• Departmental officials will continue to verify our inventory of firearms and will also continue to review our practices on inventory management and access control over firearms.

• In December 2019, the Department published the Internal Audit of the Management of Firearms. The objective of the audit was to determine whether Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard had adequately managed its firearms to ensure public safety and prevent misuse.
• The audit found that the Department has established elements of governance and inventory management practices and has adhered to federal firearms regulations to enhance public safety and prevent misuse. Areas for improvement were found in relation to asset inventory management practices and access control over firearms.
• The audit found that all active Departmental firearms have been reported to the RCMP-CFP as required; however, not all were recorded in the Departmental financial system, as required by the Departmental Directive on the Management of Movable Assets.
• The audit found that Access control practices within the Department can be improved, as these practices were not consistently performed across regions.
• A management action plan has been developed to address the audit recommendations and will be fully implemented by December 31, 2020. Status updates on the management action plan will be provided to the Departmental Audit Committee semi-annually.
• Within the Department, there are two sectors which employ firearms during the conduct of their duties. Fisheries and Harbour Management sector (Conservation and Protection (C&P) Directorate) uses both enforcement firearms (i.e. handguns) and non-enforcement firearms (i.e., rifles and shotguns). Ecosystems and Oceans Science (EOS) may use non-enforcement firearms during the conduct of their duties.
• The Canadian Coast Guard (Coast Guard) and selected members are designated as C&P officers who use both enforcement and non-enforcement firearms in carrying out their operational duties.

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