Do Treaty Rights Holders Need a PAL to Hunt?

Hunter in camouflage carrying a rifle in the field

Sep 18, 2026

Information & Education

Do treaty rights holders need a PAL to hunt?

Yes. A firearms licence is required to possess a firearm in Canada, and that applies to First Nations, Inuit and Métis hunters exercising treaty or Aboriginal harvesting rights, including on traditional territory. The right to hunt and the licence to possess the rifle are two separate questions in Canadian law, and they are answered by two different sets of rules.

This question came in from someone who follows our work. The situation: a hunting rifle handed down through the generations, and hunting to feed family and Elders who cannot provide for themselves. It is a good question. The answer has parts that most people, including a lot of firearms instructors, have never read, because the federal government wrote a specific set of regulations for exactly this situation.

Two questions, two sets of rules

The first question is whether you have the right to harvest. Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. What that right covers, where it applies, and which provincial wildlife rules apply to you depends on your treaty or your nation's rights, the province you are in, and decades of court decisions. That is outside my lane. Your nation's lands and resources office is the right place for that answer, and they know your territory better than any firearms instructor will.

The second question is whether you can lawfully possess the firearm. That one I can answer. Section 91 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to possess a firearm without holding a licence for it. Section 3 of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Adaptations Regulations (Firearms) states that the Firearms Act and its regulations apply to Aboriginal individuals, subject to the adaptations those regulations set out. The licence requirement applies. What changes is how you get the licence.

What the Adaptations Regulations change

The regulations apply to a person who is a member of one of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, is a member of an Aboriginal community, and engages in the traditional hunting practices of that community. The licence application includes a declaration to that effect, along with confirmation from an Elder or leader of the community. From there, the process is adapted in several ways:

Statements in the application can be made orally and transcribed by someone acting for the applicant, or made through an interpreter.
If the Chief Firearms Officer is considering refusing the licence, or attaching a condition to it, the applicant is given the opportunity to submit recommendations from an Elder or leader about the importance of traditional hunting to that person, and the Chief Firearms Officer is required to consider them.
A young person under 12 can be eligible for a minor's licence for the purpose of engaging in the traditional hunting practices of their community.
Ammunition provided by the Crown in fulfilment of a treaty obligation is not treated as a transfer under the Firearms Act.

The safety course and alternative certification

For most applicants the path to a PAL runs through the Canadian Firearms Safety Course. The Adaptations Regulations provide a second route called alternative certification. The Chief Firearms Officer certifies an adult applicant without the course in two circumstances. The first is that the applicant is an Elder. The second is that an Elder or leader of the community recommends the applicant as having the required knowledge, and the course or its tests are not available within a reasonable time, at a location the applicant can reach without undue cost or hardship, or at a reasonable cost.

The knowledge standard stays in place: safe storage, display, handling, transportation and use of firearms, including the operation of common hunting firearms, and the laws that apply to all of it. The route to certification is adapted. The expectation that you know how to handle a firearm safely is the same for everyone.

The licence fee and sustenance hunters

The fee for a non-restricted PAL is waived for people who need firearms to hunt or trap in order to sustain themselves or their families. The Chief Firearms Officer for your province or territory makes that determination. The waiver covers the non-restricted licence and the minor's licence. It is available to any sustenance hunter in Canada, Indigenous or otherwise.

A rifle passed down in the family

A family rifle carries a lot more than its dollar value, and the law has rules for how it changes hands. Giving a firearm to another person is a transfer under the Firearms Act, and the person receiving it needs a valid licence at the time. If the rifle comes to you through an estate, section 91(4) of the Criminal Code gives a person who comes into possession by operation of law a reasonable period to either obtain a licence or lawfully dispose of the firearm.

My advice is simple. Get the licence in place before the rifle changes hands. The rifle stays in the family, and nobody in the family is exposed to a criminal charge over it.

Hunting alongside a licensed hunter

There is one more provision worth knowing. Under section 91(4) of the Criminal Code, a person without a licence can use a firearm while under the direct and immediate supervision of someone who may lawfully possess it, for a use the supervising person may lawfully make of it. That covers a young or new hunter in the field right beside a licensed family member. Heading out alone with the rifle is a different situation, and the licence requirement applies to it in full.

Where to start

Licence applications go through the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program, which can be reached at 1-800-731-4000. Ask about applying under the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Adaptations Regulations (Firearms) and about the sustenance hunter fee waiver. The Chief Firearms Officer for your province or territory makes the decisions on both.

If a course is within reach of you, take it. What you learn in the Canadian Firearms Safety Course about safe handling, storage and transport is worth having whether the law required it or not.

What the Silvercore Club does for a hunter

Once the licence is sorted, there is one more piece worth having in place. The Silvercore Club is $59 a year and carries $5 million in liability insurance for members, and that coverage extends to hunting and fishing. Most hunters never think about liability until the day something goes wrong in the field.

Membership also includes our online courses at no charge and partner discounts on optics, gear and cases. It is open to hunters anywhere in Canada.

Join the Silvercore Club

Continue on the Silvercore Path

Sources

Travis Bader Silvercore Outdoors

FAQ

Do treaty rights holders need a PAL to hunt? Yes. The Firearms Act and its regulations apply to Aboriginal individuals, subject to the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Adaptations Regulations (Firearms). The right to harvest and the licence to possess a firearm are separate legal questions.

Is there a way to get a PAL without taking the course? For Indigenous applicants who qualify under the Adaptations Regulations, yes. The Chief Firearms Officer can grant alternative certification to an Elder, or to an adult recommended by an Elder or community leader where the course is not reasonably available by time, distance or cost.

Is the PAL fee waived for sustenance hunters? Yes, for the non-restricted licence and the minor's licence, where the Chief Firearms Officer determines the person needs firearms to hunt or trap to sustain themselves or their family.

Can I keep a rifle that was passed down to me if I do not have a PAL? Possessing a firearm without a licence is an offence under section 91 of the Criminal Code. A person who inherits a firearm through an estate has a reasonable period to obtain a licence or lawfully dispose of it. Get licensed before the rifle changes hands.

Can I hunt with a family member who has a PAL if I do not have one? The Criminal Code allows an unlicensed person to use a firearm under the direct and immediate supervision of someone who may lawfully possess it. Whether you can lawfully harvest is a separate question answered by your treaty or Aboriginal rights and the wildlife rules that apply to you.