For me to get a PAL I would have to got to a class and take a course. Then I would have to pass a written and gun handling test. If I couldn't get a POL then taking the course is a waste of my time because I wouln't qualify for a license in the first place.

The course is run by qualified instructors. You have to be able to answer a lot of questions such as safe storage and actual things about fire arms. You also have to be able to identify a gun by looking a picture. It's not that easy to pass either, although they probably help you out a bit. Those who don't have guns here are either not hunters or they could never get the paperwork to own one. Believe me, I know lots of guys who don't have guns and I'm very happy they don't. Over the past number of years at least some of thm would have killed someone by now.

If I want to get a restricted weapon ( not called a fire arm at this point ) it would help if I belonged to a gun range or I had an antigue collection. I'm not sure just how difficult it is but I think they take an even closer look at you. It's possible to buy a gun just like the one the shooter used, which is restricted here, but it would take about 6 months before you ever got your hands on it. Everything has to be kept locked up, no exceptions.
A place near me burned down and the owner was charged with unsafe storage when the remains of a long gun were found outside of the gun safe. It resulted in her loosing her spot as Mayor of the county at the next election - I guess people saw her as being not very law abiding.

The Federal Government controls fire arms. The Provinces administer and enforce the laws through the Provincial police or the RCMP. The Provinces ( read States ) have no control over this, however Quebec was able to keep their list of who owns what for thier own uses when the registery ended this year. They don't come door to door to check but you still want to keep stuff locked up.
Having one source ( federal ) for gun control laws makes a lot of sense. If we didn't have that, people would simply go to the Province next door to get what they want. Sound familiar?

As it is, almost all illegal hand guns in Canada are coming from the USA. Same with Mexico I'm sure.
Your hand gun, which is registered, gets used in a crime here? You're in very big doo - doo.

And the reason all of this works fairly well is because the population wants to feel reasonably safe going about their day to day business. We have never had a constitutional right to own fire arms here so that's why we don't have a gun culture. Given what's seen on TV on a regular basis, I'm pretty sure most people here are glad of that.