Gun Violence, Hate Crimes

The upstate New York city of Buffalo, a two-hour drive from Toronto, says major firearms manufacturers are fuelling violence through irresponsible marketing and sales practices. In a suit filed December 20, the city names Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Bushmaster, Colt and Glock in pressing for a monetary award to fight gun violence. It seeks unspecified damages to underwrite a campaign against gun violence, saying that the “defendants’ actions have created, maintained, or contributed to a condition in Buffalo that impacts the health and wellbeing of us all.” [node:read-more:link]

Toronto-area police forces have arrested 51 people and recovered more than 215 stolen after a months-long investigation. Project Touchdown also resulted in the seizure of 15 handguns and an assault rifle, most of which have been traced to the U.S., as well as ammunition, a kilogram of cocaine, and “various reprogramming devices.” York Regional Police Chief Jim Macsween said today that in his jurisdiction alone, vehicle thefts this year are more than 44 per cent higher than in 2021. [node:read-more:link]

Five victims and their killer are dead after a December 18 shooting in a condominium north of Toronto. Police say the 73-yer-old shooter who live in the gated complex killed five other residents with a handgun before he was shot by officers. [node:read-more:link]

Six persons face a combined 260 criminal charges after a months-long firearms trafficking investigation in Toronto which resulted in the seizure of 62 long guns and handguns, all but five having been brought in from the U.S. “Our youth are dying over this issue,” Interim Toronto Police Chief James Ramer said December 5. “Shootings devastate families and erode the sense of security for entire communities.” [node:read-more:link]

Unable to deal with widespread gang violence through conventional policing, the government of El Salvador deployed some 10,000 troops to surround the city of Soyapango December 3 as part of a massive crackdown. President Nayib Bukele said “extraction teams from the police and the army are tasked with extricating all the gang members still there one by one.” [node:read-more:link]

Alex Jones, the U.S. conspiracy theorist recently ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion for claiming that a mass school shooting in 2011 was a hoax, filed for bankruptcy December 2. Jones claims to have no more than $10 million in assets and to $10 billion in debt. A lawyer for the families he defamed families said “the bankruptcy system does not protect anyone who engages in intentional and egregious attacks on others and “like every other cowardly move Alex Jones has made, this bankruptcy will not work.” [node:read-more:link]

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has denied that the government plans to outlaw ordinary long guns and hunting rifles, only to reinforce a regulatory ban on “assault style” firearms by enshrining that definition in law. “The government has no intention . . . whatsoever to go after long guns and hunting rifles,” he says, accusing the Conservatives of “fearmongering” as a House committee considers the proposed amendment which would ensure gun manufacturers do not “tweak” designs of prohibited weapons to get around current controls. [node:read-more:link]

The federal government has been accused by Alberta of planning to “ban legal firearm ownership altogether” with a proposed amendment to Bill C-21, a gun-control bill currently before a parliamentary committee. The change would prohibit “a firearm that is a rifle or shotgun, that is capable of discharging centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner and that is designed to accept a detachable cartridge magazine with a capacity greater than five cartridges of the type for which the firearm was originally designed.” [node:read-more:link]

Manitoba resident Corey Hurren, a military veteran who rammed his truck into a gate at Rideau Hall in Ottawa in July 2020 in an attempt to confront Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has been granted day parole under strict conditions. Hurren, who had told police he wanted to arrest Trudeau to make a statement about federal coronavirus restrictions and the government’s ban on “assault style” firearms, had been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to weapons offences and public mischief. [node:read-more:link]

Canada is coordinating sanctions with the U.S. against two Haitian politicians, accusing of them of using their positions “to protect and enable the illegal activities of armed criminal gangs” which have paralyzed their country. Global Affairs Canada says President Youri Latortue and his predecessor, Joseph Lambert, support the gangs “through money laundering and other acts of corruption.” The U.S. Treasury Department says they have “have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs.” [node:read-more:link]

Halifax District RCMP Police are investigating after a woman was wounded, possibly accidentally, by a bullet fired from an illegal “printed” firearm. Four persons were detained and one was charged with obstructing a police officer. [node:read-more:link]

The SKS, a Russian semi-automatic rifle design dating to 1945, which has been used in several shootings in Canada in recent years, is not covered by the federal government’s list of some 2,000 proscribed “assault” weapons. “It's actually still used in militaries across the world,” says one gun-control advocate. “The only reason why it was not covered . . . is because it's not a modern design,” a criterion “that makes no sense.” [node:read-more:link]

Federal regulations designed to reduce the number of handguns in Canada are in effect but gun-control advocate fear the rules could be undermined by Parliament as it considers draft legislation underpinning the program. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said October 21 that his government has “frozen the market for handguns” in “one of the strongest actions we've taken on gun violence in a generation.” [node:read-more:link]

It has been confirmed that RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki reprimanded personnel in Nova Scotia for their communications after last April’s mass shootings in the province. Lucki has said she was not directed by the government to disclose details of the weapons involved but did express frustration with her officers who suspected political interference. [node:read-more:link]

The former leader of the Canadian Nationalist Party was sentenced by a Saskatchewan judge October 20 to a year in jail, less seven months served, for wilfully promoting hatred against Jews. Travis Patron also has been ordered to refrain from posting about Jews for a year after his release. [node:read-more:link]