Gun-related and/or hate-related killings or concerns
Jeremy Mackenzie, leader of the right-wing Dioagolon movement, which also is said to include military personnel, was arrested September 27 by Halifax Regional Police on a Canada-wide warrant. His partner, also detained, said the couple “waited in the driveway for them and cooperated.” [node:read-more:link]
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has asked the RCMP to investigate “disgusting” online sexual assault comments about his wife. Jeremy MacKenzie, whose right-wing group is affiliated with the “Freedom Convoy” protests, tried to justify his comments during a video exchange with another member of his group by saying that he was drunk. [node:read-more:link]
Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro says his province will not allow RCMP to begin collecting firearms under the federal buy-back program. “Alberta taxpayers pay over $750 million per year for the RCMP and we will not tolerate taking officers off the streets in order to confiscate the property of law-abiding firearms owners,” he said September 26 in response to a request from Public Safety Minister Marco Mendocino. [node:read-more:link]
Parole Board of Canada records show that the gunman accused of a double murder in Ontario earlier this week — one of them a Toronto police officer “ambushed” at point-blank range — had a lengthy criminal record, including robbery and illegal firearms possession. [node:read-more:link]
A six-month police investigation has led to the arrest of two Ottawa residents on multiple weapons-related charges after a recent traffic stop on Highway 401 in eastern Ontario netted 46 pistols, long guns and magazines. One of the accused also was charged with possession of cocaine. [node:read-more:link]
Increasing online harassment and hate messaging has left the federal government with no option but some sort of legislative or regulatory controls on Internet service providers, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Sept. 7. “There's a consensus on the fact that we have to do something,” he said. “Whoever says ‘oh no, no, you shouldn't do anything on this’ has to justify why status quo is OK.” [node:read-more:link]
Information gleaned from a Toronto Police Service social media account indicates that most seized crime-related firearms are imported, most likely from the U.S. So far this year, 84 of 116 seized weapons were prohibited, 20 were restricted and 11 were non [node:read-more:link]
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki has told a public inquiry into a mass shooting in Nova Scotia two years ago that the federal police force needs to improve communications with the public but also internally. At issue is whether there had been political pressure on investigators to provide more detail of the situation that led to the 22 murders by a man posing as a police officer. [node:read-more:link]
Interference is typically an extremely valid and indisputable concern, but in the case of the NS shooting spree, that argument is being used to obfuscate the real issue of communication negligence which resulted in deaths that could have been avoided. [node:read-more:link]
A senior RCMP officer who alleged political meddling in the investigation into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting is defending his position. Chief Superintendent Darren Campbell told a parliamentary committee August 16 that he had a “distinct recollection of the content” of a conversation with Commissioner Brenda Lucki in which he said she had promised the government information linked to pending gun-control regulations. [node:read-more:link]
Police in Ontario, working with Canadian and U.S. border agents, said August 10 that 22 members of a criminal network involved in the drug trade face more than 400 charges. The investigation also uncovered a pipeline for the flow of illegal firearms entering Canada from the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
There has been a 72 per cent jump in hate crimes targeting religion, sexual orientation and race since the start of the pandemic, according to Statistic Canada. A comparison of 2019 and 2021 data shows that crimes targeting religion, sexual orientation and race rose respectively by 67, 64 and six per cent. [node:read-more:link]
The federal government plans to fast-track a ban on handgun imports in two seeks, opting to do it by regulation rather than wait until sometime after the House of Commons resumes sitting September 19. Provisions for a ban are part of a package of criminal Code amendments introduced May 30 as Bill C-21 but the bill was still before committee when the House adjourned for the summer. [node:read-more:link]
Canadian owners of “assault” rifles could be compensated by as much as $6,209 through the federal government’s buyback program. That’s the highest proposed payout, for a Swiss Arms SG550, while the more common Colt AR-15 variants on the Public Safety Canada list could be worth $1,337 but the actual amounts depend on feedback from owners, businesses and industry during consultations over the next four weeks. [node:read-more:link]
Ripudaman Singh Malik, one two men acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombings – a mid-air explosion that killed 329 passengers and crew on a flight to Canada from Mumbai and a failed second attempt that killed two baggage handlers in Japan – was shot to death July 14 in Surrey, B.C. Opinions on his involvement remain deeply divided but police said they believe Malik had been targetted. [node:read-more:link]
