Although polls have consistently shown that a large majority of Canadians support the mandatory registration of all guns, the Firearms Act has been controversial, particularly in rural and western areas. In 1996, the province of Alberta, in a referral to the provincial Court of Appeals, challenged Parliament's constitutional authority to enact the licensing and registration provisions of the law, which, it argued, infringed upon provincial jurisdiction over property and civil rights. The Court upheld the law in a split decision, which Alberta appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada . Five other provinces and two territories, as well as two Aboriginal groups and several gun owners' associations, intervened on behalf of Alberta. All guns are capable of being used in crime.
All guns are capable of killing and maiming.
It follows that all guns pose a threat to public safety. As such, their control falls within the criminal law power. After the Court released its decision, the Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the agency that represents the Inuit in interpreting the land-claim agreement creating the territory in 1999, filed a statement of claim against the Firearms Act in the Nunavut Court of Justice. The case has not yet been resolved. Ballistic Fingerprints and Smart Guns Technology developed by a Montreal company is being used by law enforcement agencies in the United States and other countries to match spent bullets and casings to the guns from which they were fired.