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When it comes to Canada’s often tense debate around gun laws, most Canadians likely will not have heard of an RCMP database called the Firearms Reference Table, or FRT.
But to people like Melody Philistin, unexpected updates to this database have a personal impact.
“Yeah. It really sucks,” she said.
Philistin is a competitive shooter who recently represented Canada at an international event in the Czech Republic.
After one of her firearms was banned last year, she trained for the competition using the Sterling Arms R9 MK1, a semi-automatic nine-millimetre rifle.
“We were using those religiously to practice,” she said.
Earlier this month, Philistin learned that the rifle had been classified in the FRT as prohibited. Prohibited firearms cannot be legally used, sold, imported, or transferred to another individual.
“It’s just a paperweight now. It just sits there,” she said.
“There’s nothing we can do. What sucks is that [the R9 MK1] was kind of the last hope for [pistol-calibre carbine shooting] in Canada.”
The decision blindsided J.R. Cox, the head of the Calgary-based firearms company Sterling Arms International, forcing his company into what he described as “crisis mode.” He had to lay off five of his seven employees and had already shipped R9 MK1 units to dealers when the prohibition hit.
So what is the FRT, and why are both gun manufacturers and gun control advocates pushing for the rules to change?
What the FRT is used for
The FRT is a database used by the RCMP to help classify firearms. That classification determines whether a gun is non-restricted, restricted or prohibited.
Technically, the FRT isn’t a legal instrument, but instead just an internal RCMP tool based on definitions set out in the Criminal Code and Firearms Act. But in practice?
“It’s both the law and not the law,” said A.J. Somerset, the author of Arms: The Culture and Credo of the Gun.
“Strictly speaking, it’s an opinion of the RCMP. And if they say that a certain rifle is a variant of the AR-15 in the FRT, that still has to be proven in court.
“However, it’s de facto law. Because anybody who wants to possess such a firearm or manufacture it or import it is facing criminal charges if they do. And obviously it’s very expensive and risky to do that and then defend yourself in court.”
What happened with the R9?
Sterling Arms International designed the R9 MK1 with an aim of meeting the standards for a non-restricted firearm. Cox said he submitted technical paperwork to the RCMP in July 2024.
The RCMP said it inspected the firearm in June 2025. Cox said it was determined that it was a variant of a previously banned gun, the Armalite AR-180B.
Cox has since been contesting the classification, arguing that the R9 MK1 is a semi-automatic sporting rifle chambered only in a pistol-calibre cartridge. It can’t be converted to fully automatic fire, Cox said.
“My firearm has nothing in common with the firearm that they say it’s a variant of,” he said, arguing the only interchangeable part in the rifles is the trigger.
In the meantime, his business remains in dire straits.
“Dealers aren’t happy, we’re not happy too, but now we’ve got dozens and dozens of firearms that are kind of in limbo,” Cox said.
“Dealers have them, they’ve paid for them. Obviously, they don’t want them, and I’m not in a position to take them all back.”
While Cox said the RCMP has now indicated it may re-examine the classification if he provides additional technical details, there’s no formal appeal process.
“I’m at the mercy of the RCMP,” he said. “So the fact that they’ve said, well, hey, we’re willing to take a look at this again. Is that lipstick on a pig or is there going to be an honest reassessment?”
Calls for reform from both sides
Wes Winkel, president of the Canadian Sporting Arms and Ammunition Association, said this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
“Sometimes they add a whole bunch [to the FRT], and then sometimes it’s just one gun at a time,” he said.
For gun owners who aren’t closely keeping track of updates, this can be a problem.
“So, they bought a firearm that they think they can take out turkey hunting or whatever, and then all of a sudden they’re caught in the field with it, and it’s listed on the FRT as prohibited,” he said. “There’s a lot of ramifications for carrying a prohibited firearm in Canada.”
Gun control advocates also want change. Groups like PolySeSouvient argue the problem is that firearms like the R9 can reach the market before the RCMP finishes assessing them.
“The problem of manufacturers introducing new models to the market based on their own interpretations is at the root of this kind of problematic situation, where the RCMP has to play catch-up after the models start being sold to Canadians,” reads a release attributed to PolySeSouvient, sent to CBC News.
The group said there were many examples of industry misclassifications, including labelling prohibited guns as legal.
“Which is a huge public safety concern in addition to the inconvenience this causes those who purchased them,” the group said. “The Liberals have repeatedly promised to change the process so that the RCMP vets and classifies new models before they hit the Canadian market.
“The previous Liberal government tabled regulations to that effect, but these are faulty and need to be fixed as they essentially change nothing. During the last election, Mark Carney has promised this would be done.”
Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns, another gun control group, agrees.
“CDPG has called on the RCMP to review guns before coming to market to ensure they meet the definition of banned firearm,” said Christopher Holcroft, a spokesperson with the group, in an email to CBC News.
For firearms owners, the process remains an “incredibly contentious subject,” according to Cox, especially given that some may not closely follow the latest updates.
“It’s the whole, ‘Ignorance is no excuse for the law’ aspect,” Cox said. “It’s like, well, how am I supposed to know? So the FRT has just created a monster of liability for firearms owners.”
What does the government say?
The federal government says it is committed to ensuring that all makes and models of firearms are assessed prior to entering the market.
A spokesperson with Public Safety Canada said that the government “has received and published comments on the proposed regulations and is assessing ways to further strengthen the firearms safety regime and the classification process.”
During the federal election campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney said classification of new firearm models should be left “to the RCMP, to the experts, not to the gun industry.“
“No new guns should come into this country before they have been examined and classified by those experts,” Carney said April 10.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he would get rid of the previous government’s “assault-style” firearm buyback program, branding it as a “gun grab.”
Poilievre is currently running in the riding of Battle River-Crowfoot to regain a seat in the House of Commons. During a town hall held in Stettler, Alta., last week, Poilievre took aim again at the federal plan.
“The RCMP doesn’t want to do it. I don’t know how they’re going to do this. I actually don’t think they’re going to be able to do it,” he said in clips of the event posted online by local news outlet Hometown Media.
The federal government has made last-minute additions of gun parts to its assault-weapon buyback program such as magazines, bolts, and grips. Critics say adding the wide range of components will only add to the program’s ballooning cost.
As the process unfolds, the FRT is likely to continue to be a “burning issue” amongst gun owners and gun control advocates, according to Somerset.
“I don’t think that anybody’s particularly happy,” he said.
The RCMP didn’t immediately respond to follow-up questions from CBC News about the FRT and the Sterling Arms R9 MK1.