Firearm Offences — Brampton & Peel
A gun charges lawyer in Brampton defends firearm and weapons offences under Part III of the Criminal Code, most often unauthorized possession under sections 91 and 92, possession in a motor vehicle under section 94, possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm under section 95, and possession contrary to a prohibition order under section 117.01. Charges laid by Peel Regional Police are heard at the A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse on Hurontario Street in Brampton. These are among the most seriously screened charges in the building, bail is usually reverse onus, and the Crown’s starting position on a loaded handgun is a penitentiary sentence. Cases are nonetheless won, almost always on two questions: whether the search that found the gun was lawful, and whether the Crown can prove you knew it was there and had control over it.
Most Peel gun files begin with a traffic stop or a search warrant, and most involve a handgun. The charges that follow depend on the type of firearm, whether it was loaded, where it was found and whether you hold a licence.
| Charge | What it alleges | Maximum by indictment |
|---|---|---|
| Unauthorized possession (s. 91) | Possessing a firearm without a licence, or a prohibited or restricted firearm without a licence and registration certificate | 5 years |
| Possession knowing it is unauthorized (s. 92) | The same possession, where the Crown alleges you knew you were not authorized | 10 years |
| Possession in a motor vehicle (s. 94) | Being an occupant of a vehicle knowing there is a firearm inside that no occupant is authorized to have | 10 years |
| Loaded prohibited or restricted firearm (s. 95) | Possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm that is loaded, or with readily accessible ammunition, without the required authorization | 10 years |
| Possession contrary to order (s. 117.01) | Possessing a firearm, ammunition or other weapon while bound by a prohibition order | 10 years |
| Careless use or storage (s. 86) | Using, carrying, handling or storing a firearm or ammunition in a careless manner or contrary to the storage regulations | 2 years on a first offence |
Handguns are restricted or, where the barrel is 105 millimetres or shorter, prohibited firearms, so an unlicensed handgun almost always produces a section 95 count alongside the others. Weapons trafficking under section 99 and importing under section 103 carry a fourteen-year maximum after the 2023 amendments and retain mandatory minimums. Where a firearm was allegedly used in an assault or robbery, the firearm count sits alongside the violence charge, and the assault with a weapon page explains that side. The firm’s general gun offences page covers the definitions and classifications in more depth.
Possession under section 4(3) of the Criminal Code requires knowledge and control. A gun in the trunk of a car with three occupants, in a shared bedroom closet, or in a residence where several people have keys is not automatically in the possession of the person charged. The Crown has to prove that you knew the firearm was there and that you had, or shared, the ability to deal with it.
This is how the firm’s firearm files have been won. A loaded handgun found in a trunk after officers smelled cannabis during a traffic stop produced no evidence of who knew it was there or that it was loaded, and every charge was dismissed. Multiple firearms seized under a warrant at a residence could not be connected to the client’s knowledge or control, and every charge was withdrawn. In each case the question was not whether a gun existed, but what evidence connected it to this person beyond proximity.
Forensic evidence matters here. Counsel asks whether the firearm and magazine were swabbed for DNA and examined for fingerprints, what the results were, and whether the Crown’s theory survives them. Phone extractions, photographs and messages are examined for what they actually show rather than what the synopsis says they show. Section 95 also requires proof that the firearm was loaded or that ammunition was readily accessible, and section 94 requires proof of what an occupant knew, which is a separate and often unprovable element.
Almost every firearm prosecution begins with a search, and section 8 of the Charter protects against unreasonable search and seizure. The disclosure review asks how the police came to be looking.
Where a breach is established, section 24(2) asks whether admitting the evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. Courts weigh the seriousness of the police conduct, its impact on your rights and society’s interest in a trial on the merits. Firearms are reliable evidence and the offences are serious, so the Crown argues hard for admission, which is why the quality of the breach argument matters more on a gun file than almost anywhere else.
Most firearm possession, trafficking and importing allegations involving a prohibited or restricted firearm are reverse onus at bail under section 515(6), as is any firearm allegation made while you are bound by a weapons prohibition. The bail amendments that came into force in January 2024 widened that list further. Reverse onus means you must show why detention is not justified, and the Crown will argue the secondary ground, public safety, and the tertiary ground, public confidence, together.
Release is still won regularly on these files. The firm has secured bail on multiple firearms allegations, and the deciding factor was never the charge. It was a confirmed residence, sureties who understood the supervision they were promising, and a plan with real structure, prepared before the hearing rather than assembled in the hallway. A rushed firearm bail hearing that ends in a detention order is far harder to undo than a short adjournment to prepare. How the plan is built is on the Brampton bail hearing page.
Section 95 once carried a three-year mandatory minimum on a first offence. The Supreme Court of Canada struck it down in R. v. Nur in 2015, and Bill C-5 formally repealed it and the other firearm possession minimums in November 2022. That does not mean the sentences got light. Ontario courts continue to treat possession of a loaded handgun in public as a penitentiary-range offence in most cases, and Peel Crowns open with positions to match.
What the repeal changed is the range. Where the firearm was in a home rather than on the street, where the accused is young with no record, where the possession was fleeting or where there are strong Charter arguments the Crown would rather not litigate, outcomes below the penitentiary range are now legally available and are negotiated. On the firm’s files that has meant a plea to a single count with a conditional sentence where the Crown’s opening position was twelve years, and withdrawals of the firearm counts where a plea to a lesser drug count resolved the file.
Two collateral consequences follow any firearm conviction. A mandatory weapons prohibition under section 109 applies, for a minimum of ten years and often for life. And because every charge in the table above except section 86 is punishable by ten years or more, a conviction is serious criminality under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, exposing a permanent resident to loss of status and removal regardless of the sentence imposed. See immigration consequences of a criminal conviction.
Selected firearm outcomes, drawn from the firm’s published Cases History. Every case turns on its own facts and evidence, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
During a traffic stop, officers smelled cannabis, searched the vehicle and found a loaded handgun in the trunk. The defence put the Crown to proof on possession, knowledge and awareness that the firearm was loaded. After a two-day preliminary hearing, the judge found the circumstantial evidence insufficient and dismissed every charge.
A search warrant executed at the client’s residence produced multiple firearms. Counsel focused on the absence of evidence tying the client’s knowledge or control to the guns, and pressed the delay in bringing the case to trial. The Crown withdrew all charges, sparing the client a four-year sentence and deportation.
After a year-long investigation, the client and five others were arrested and 62 firearms were seized. The Crown’s opening position was twelve years in a penitentiary. A year of negotiation built on a detailed examination of the evidence and the delay produced a plea to a single section 95 count and a conditional sentence of two years less a day. Every remaining charge was withdrawn.
A warrant executed at the client’s home turned up a firearm and ammunition after drugs were found in his vehicle. A detailed examination of the Information to Obtain the warrant revealed deficiencies, and every firearm-related charge was withdrawn. The client pleaded to simple possession of cocaine, the seized money was returned and a three-year sentence was avoided.
Peel firearm charges begin in the Ontario Court of Justice at 7755 Hurontario Street. Many firearm accused are held for a bail hearing rather than released by police, and if you were released by a justice on a release order your first appearance is almost always in courtroom 104 at 9:00 a.m., the adult case management court for people who have not yet retained a lawyer. Your release papers list the exact courtroom and date, and the daily list is posted at ontariocourtdates.ca from 4:00 p.m. the day before.
You do not normally have to attend in person. Under the Ontario Court of Justice’s case management notice, accused people may appear at first appearances and other case management dates by Zoom unless a judicial officer directs otherwise. The coordinates for courtroom 104 are published on the court’s Brampton page:
| Courtroom 104 | Details |
|---|---|
| Sitting | Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. Counsel matters are called first; self-represented matters from about 10:00 a.m. |
| Zoom video | ca01web.zoom.us/j/67805418119, meeting ID 678 0541 8119, passcode 109554 |
| Zoom by phone | 647-374-4685 or toll-free 1-855-703-8985, same meeting ID and passcode |
| In person | A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse, 7755 Hurontario Street, Brampton, L6W 4T1 |
The first appearance is administrative. Counsel is confirmed, the status of disclosure is noted and the next date is set. Once you retain a lawyer, the file moves to courtroom 307, the retained-counsel case management court, and with a designation of counsel filed your lawyer can attend those appearances without you. Because most possession charges carry a ten-year maximum, there is no preliminary inquiry, which since 2019 is reserved for offences punishable by fourteen years or more, and the case proceeds to a trial in the Ontario Court of Justice or, on election, the Superior Court. Weapons trafficking and importing still qualify for a preliminary inquiry. Firearms seized alongside drugs produce a joined file with the federal Crown, covered on the Brampton drug charges page. Where the accused is under 18, the Brampton youth criminal lawyer page explains how the Youth Criminal Justice Act changes both bail and sentencing on a firearm allegation. How Peel files move from the first appearance to resolution or trial is on the Brampton criminal lawyer page.
You speak directly with a lawyer, and the firm works with clients and their families in English, Punjabi and Hindi. Flexible payment plans are available on retained matters where that fits the file. Offices in Mississauga and at 100 Queen St W, Brampton. Call 416-502-8555.
General information about Ontario criminal law, not legal advice for your matter. Last reviewed September 2026.
Verified Google reviews from clients on how the firm communicated, prepared and supported them. Every matter is different, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
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Gun cases are decided on the search, the warrant and the proof of who knew the firearm was there. That review cannot wait for the trial date.
Answers to the questions we hear most from people charged with firearm and weapons offences by Peel Regional Police. Every file turns on its own facts.
Possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm under section 95 carries a maximum of ten years by indictment. The former three-year mandatory minimum was struck down by the Supreme Court in R. v. Nur in 2015 and repealed by Parliament in November 2022. Ontario courts still treat a loaded handgun in public as a penitentiary-range offence in most cases, but the range now extends lower where the circumstances and the strength of the Crown’s case justify it.
Usually. Possession, trafficking and importing allegations involving a prohibited or restricted firearm, and any firearm allegation made while you are under a weapons prohibition, place the onus on you to show why detention is not justified under section 515(6). The list was widened in January 2024. Release is still granted regularly where the plan, the residence and the sureties are prepared before the hearing.
Only if the Crown proves you knew the firearm was there and had some control over it, or, under section 94, that you knew a firearm was in the vehicle and that no occupant was authorized to have it. Presence in the vehicle is not enough. A loaded handgun found in a trunk after a traffic stop produced no such proof on one of the firm’s files, and all charges were dismissed.
Yes. If the traffic stop, the arrest, the warrant or the search breached section 8 of the Charter, the court can exclude the firearm under section 24(2). Because the gun is usually the entire case, exclusion generally ends the prosecution. Deficiencies in the Information to Obtain a search warrant led to the withdrawal of every firearm charge on one of the firm’s files.
A permanent resident convicted of an offence punishable by ten years or more is inadmissible for serious criminality under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act regardless of the actual sentence, and almost every firearm possession charge apart from careless storage meets that threshold. Temporary residents face inadmissibility for any indictable or hybrid conviction. Immigration advice should be obtained alongside criminal advice before any resolution is considered.
Restricted firearms include most handguns and certain semi-automatic long guns, which may be owned only with a restricted licence and registration. Prohibited firearms include handguns with a barrel of 105 millimetres or less or chambered for .25 or .32 calibre, fully automatic firearms and models prohibited by regulation. Both classes attract the section 95 loaded-firearm charge, and since October 2022 handguns can no longer be transferred to new owners in Canada.
It is administrative. At the Davis Courthouse counsel is confirmed, disclosure status is noted and the next date is set. Adults released on a release order who have not yet retained a lawyer are usually scheduled in courtroom 104 at 9:00 a.m., and may appear by Zoom using meeting ID 678 0541 8119 and passcode 109554 unless a judicial officer directs otherwise. Once counsel is retained and a designation is filed, your lawyer can appear for you.
Only where the maximum sentence is fourteen years or more, which since September 2019 excludes most possession offences, including section 95. Weapons trafficking and importing under sections 99 and 103 still qualify. For possession charges the case proceeds directly to trial in the Ontario Court of Justice or, on election, the Superior Court of Justice.
Yes. Kahlon Law works with clients and their families in English, Punjabi and Hindi, which matters on a firearm file because the parents or spouse who will act as sureties need to understand the conditions and the supervision role before they testify. See the Punjabi-speaking criminal lawyer page.
If you or a family member has been charged with a firearm offence in Brampton or Peel, the bail plan and the disclosure review both need to start now. Contact Kahlon Law and speak directly with a lawyer today.
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