CANADIAN FIREARMS SAFETY COURSE - "PAL Course"

Course Location:  Vancouver Gun Club (VGC ) 

7340 Sidaway Rd, Richmond, BC 

 NOTE: One Kilometer straight South of the Richmond Auto Mall off Westminster Hwy.   -   Lots of (Free) Parking

This course is a requirement to apply for a Possession and Acquisition License (PAL). Keep in mind that there are other requirements to obtain a PAL and criminal history or mental illness may prevent you from obtaining one.

You will not receive a PAL at the end of this course but the successful completion of this course allows you to apply for one.

You will receive all the paperwork and forms to apply for a PAL. If the classes below do not say "FULL" - space is available.

A reminder communique will be emailed to all students prior to the weekend. It's also a request to advise us if you're not feeling well in any way to contact this office to reschedule with no cost to the student. If anyone shows up for class sick (coughing, running nose etc will be immediately sent home).

Instructor:    Mike Glas - Certified CFSC/CRFSC Master Instructor

Email: efirearm@shaw.ca   Cell Phone:  604-312-4607

Mike is a retired RCMP Staff Sergeant having served for 35 years.

Mike was in the first class of instructors for this program when it began in 1995.

He has trained hundreds of gun enthusiasts and knows what lessons work and what doesn’t.

He’s one of the most senior instructors in Canada and also a Master Instructor to train new instructors

2nd Instructor:   Stavros Nicolinas - Certified CFSC/CRFSC Instructor

Stavros has been an instructor for 12 years and was mentored by Mike Glas and taught alongside him from day one. There's a course almost every weekend at the Vancouver Gun Club and Stavros teaches every 2^nd weekend, thus has trained more students than the average busy instructor in the Lower Mainland.

The feedback received is documented at the bottom of this web page being testimony of Mike and Stavros dedication and quality of delivering a great program.

BILL C-21 National "freeze" on handguns

A national freeze on the sale, purchase or transfer of handguns by individuals within Canada, and bringing newly-acquired handguns into Canada came into force by regulations on October 21, 2022.

Individuals who already own and have a restricted license can continue to possess and use their registered handguns and can sell or transfer their registered handguns to exempted individuals or businesses. 

Students ask: What good is it to have a Restricted PAL if I cannot purchase a handgun ?

For those who do not have a PAL and are deciding whether or not to take the restricted course, I can only give two   examples where it would be beneficial to have a restricted PAL:

(1) You can rent a handgun from an approved gun club and shoot it without supervision.

(3) If this law is ever reversed by the courts and there are numerous challenges right now -  or - any government in power decides to reverse this bill will no doubt cause long wait times to take the the CFSC course as well the processing time to receive your restricted PAL. If you obtain a restricted PAL this will be a non-issue. 

As result of Bill C-21, we have experienced a significant drop in Restricted Course Registrations thus we're reducing the number of Restricted Course training days.  If you want both courses you do not have to take them on the same weekend. You can take the Non-restricted first on one weekend and then take the Restricted course later on a different weekend.

TRAINING:      Have you been out of school a long time and apprehensive about exams? Our presentation has over 300 power point slides. Adults and students where English is their second language do consistently well on the exams. We're geared towards teaching everyone including adults who are many, many years out of school.  Read the testimonials at the bottom of this page!

Gift Certificates for Birthdays, Anniversaries,  a milestone occasion  and any other reasons you can think of are offered.

If you have any further questions after reviewing the information below please call Mike:

If your question is: "How do I sign up" . . .Answer: Scroll down past the training dates to: "HOW TO SIGN UP" and follow the instructions.

Mike's cell: 604-312-4607 - If no answer, please leave a message for a call back.

Class Schedule

Vancouver Gun Club – CFSC/CRFSC – TRAINING DATES:

Note: You can take the non-restricted and not the restricted, however, if you wish to take the Restricted, you must first take the non-restricted course or prove you have already successfully completed the non-restricted course. 

 "HOW TO SIGN UP" - Scroll down past the dates to sign up as well learn the COURSE FEES      

YEAR 2023

MARCH

25 & 26 CORE - Marc - For sign-up detail see Hunter Course in this website

APRIL

01 Saturday - Non-Restricted - Stavros

02 Sunday - Restricted - Stavros

08 & 09  - Easter Weekend - No Classes

15  Saturday  Non-Restricted - Mike

29Saturday - Non-Restricted - Stavros

30 Sunday - Restricted - Stavros

MAY

06 - Saturday -  Non-Restricted - Stavros

13 - Saturday - Non-Restricted - Mike

27 - Saturday - Non-Restricted - Stavros

28 -  Sunday - Restricted - Stavros

JUNE

03 - Saturday -  Non-Restricted - Stavros

10 - Saturday - Non-Restricted - Mike

17 - Saturday - Non-Restricted - Stavros

18 -  Sunday - Restricted - Stavros

24 - Saturday - Non-Restricted - Mike

The approximate course hours are:

NON-RESTRICTED:  8:00 am to approximately 5:00 pm 
RESTRICTED:    8:00 am to approximately 2:30 pm

Course Fees

	Regular Pricing
Non Restricted	Restricted	Combined
$180.00	$100.00	$280.00

Note: GST will be charged and added to above pricing

MINORS

Note: minors (Age 12 to 17) can only apply for the Non-Restricted Course and requires parental consent given to the instructor prior to class.  The minor can apply for a Possession License Under the Firearms Act (Minor) upon successful completion of the Non-Restricted Course.

CHALLENGE EXAMS ARE NO LONGER OFFERED DUE TO THE CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS

How To Sign Up -ALL communication will be completed via email.   

Email your course date(s) request to Mike Glas (efirearm@shaw.ca) with the following information:

• First, second & last name (your legal names as it will appear on your PAL) 
• Date of Birth (YR-MO-DA) for you and anyone else you are registering
• Email addresses for others you are registering (if they have an email address).
• Contact phone number (of everyone that is being registered)
• What courses you'd like to register for (ie: non restricted, or restricted or both. Restricted only must have successfully completed Non-Restricted Course.)
• What course dates you would like (if the class is full, it will be marked "full" in the class schedule above)

A reply with course signup confirmation and detail narrative with all the information required for the training weekend will be sent to you: start time, how to pay, lunch, link to download the manual (free), etc.

CANCELLED CLASS  We reserve the right to cancel a class, something we hope will never happen. In the event of a class cancellation, we will do everything possible to ensure the new date is suitable to you. If refund occurs as result of cancellation we will return 100% of the course fee.

IF STUDENT CANCELS 

If for medical reasons that you have to cancel, OR if you have flu like symptoms OR have been in contact with anyone testing positive for COVIC-19 in the past 5 days please contact us to cancel and rebook as soon as possible to allow someone else the fill the spot.  There will be no penalty to do so if you are rebooked. A small administration fee will apply if you do not rebook & request a refund. 

If you wish to cancel for any other reason than medical, a minimum of 48 hours notice must be given to allow us time to fill your training spot.  If the notice is less than 48 hours, your registration fee is non-refundable.

FAIL TO SHOW UP FOR CLASS:

Your fee is non-refundable if you fail to show up for class i.e. forgot, . Please respect the fact that administration costs are incurred as well operating costs (classroom, instructor fees etc). Most of the time we have person(s) on a waiting list and could have filled that training position. 

LATE FOR CLASS - If you show up late, the instructor will assess how much you missed. If the instructor feels you have missed too much, you will have to rebook and make a new payment.  Most of the time we have person(s) on a waiting list and could have filled that training position and there would be no loss of revenue to cover expenses.

Testimonials

Terry Y:

Thank you for the opportunity and enrollment into your Non-Restricted session. Excellent learning and training! Stavros Nicolinas is a fabulous instructor; effectively and tactfully teaching the objectives of firearms safety and the handling of firearms. I was extremely nervous about taking the class and of course, the written and practical tests. I managed to score 100% in both the written and practical, and now very confident of handling non-restricted firearm.

The following google reviews rated this course a 5/5 and left this posted narrative

Reza T.

I Went for My PAL, Restricted and non-Restricted License in VGC With Mike Glass, Super Lovely Guy, very well informed and gave me lots of insight to the Gun world and took the Core Course with Marc, Very nice hands-on and experienced person in all fields of Firearms that you can learn a lot from.

The Club was also very well organized, nice staff and manager also lots of kind experienced shooters.
I definitely recommend this place.

James L.

Came here to do the PAL course, and had a fantastic time! Stavros, my instructor, took the time to make sure things were being understood properly, gave lots of examples and was overall a 10/10 instructor. Will be coming back here hopefully as a member some time soon.

Mike E

Just finished my certification for PAL with Mike Glas. What an excellent experience. He taught us well, provided some great perspectives from his illustrious career in the RCMP. But he is also kind and patient. Me and my wife did the class and we recommend him to anyone before it’s too late and he retires!!!

Thank you Mike and the VGC. We will be back.

Wally Chan

Just completed my PAL. Awesome course and brilliant teacher. Good range for trap or skid shooting (shoot guns) plenty of parking and friendly people

From James S.

Hi Mike, I just wanted to send a quick thank you for the great course this weekend. You made what could be a long tedious day, enjoyable thought provoking and fun. You attracted students from remote cities and both young and older. It was easy to follow, covered all the important points in a well laid out course. I really appreciate all the time and effort you have gone to to promote and teach this required and valuable information.

Please pass along my best wishes to Stavros.  Also please pass along thanks to Marc for his great points and great teaching. With a big group it really made things go smoothly and efficiently having those two assisting.

I will do my best to promote this to friends and family that I think would enjoy or benefit from taking this course.

All the best, hope to see you on the range some day (guns pointed down range of course).

From Geoff C  - a US citizen who came to came to Canada to take this course

Mike & Stavros, 

Thanks for putting on the Canadian Firearms Safety Course.  As much as I hate to admit it, I did learn alot more than I expected!  The program that you offer/Canada offers is far different from what the US offers.  The theories Stavros and yourself presented are only learned over a longer period of time and self taught.  The Canadian method/your method explains what I believe EVERY firearm owner MUST know before purchasing a firearm.  I believe the customers that visit our store in Colorado don't have half the knowledge of what I learned in 2 days of the Canadian Firearms program.

I will definitely keep in touch with yourself and Stavros.  Please pass on my contact info with him!  Thanks again to both of you.  You both did an exemplary job.

From Dylan

Very good job on the course I really enjoyed that! Here's the review you can post.

"This was very well taught and presented, the visual aspect of it was very helpful and made it easier to retain knowledge. The teachers were very knowledgeable with alot of personal experience and I highly recommend this course!" - Dylan

From Lane W.

Hi Mike and Stavros

I really enjoyed your presentation, it was incredibly easy to follow, thnx for doing such a great job, top notch. I was thinking it was going to be really challenging but I found your method really helpful and encouraging, it could have even been a little harder and I still would have enjoyed it. Again thnx so much.