From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V6 #505 Reply-To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Sender: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Errors-To: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Cdn-Firearms Digest Tuesday, September 23 2003 Volume 06 : Number 505 In this issue: Councillors mull strategies to battle auto theft Bow down before the Charter of Rights Queen Adrienne sits high above politics RCMP's closing of ballistics lab under review Man, 76, charged with murder plot Shooting victim had shady past: WANTED MAN TURNS SELF IN GANG BANGERS ON HAND AT KILLER PARTY Blues benefit aids boy shot with pellet ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 23:32:52 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Councillors mull strategies to battle auto theft http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-09-22-0027.html Monday, September 22, 2003 Councillors mull strategies to battle auto theft By LORI COOLICAN, EDMONTON SUN Cops have opened fire on car thieves in three pursuits over two weeks - but that doesn't mean police need to put more resources into auto theft prevention, say both city councillors on the Edmonton Police Commission. "The police react to the crimes of the day. Each one of the officers out there will be told to ... 'Check more plates out there, guys,' that kind of thing," Coun. Dave Thiele said yesterday. "I'm concerned about the violence that's involved. These people think they can drive and get away, and it's just not reality. To flee is not a very wise thing." Operation Hot Wheels, a special five-member unit created by city police in 1992, was credited with cutting Edmonton auto thefts in half by 1998 through surveillance of high-risk areas. The program was scrapped in May 2000, when officers were shifted to the gang unit. Last year a two-month pilot project in Edmonton's north end saw five officers target repeat offenders and hot spots for auto theft. It resulted in a 35% decrease in the number of stolen cars and trucks. "There's a lot of new things that are tried from time to time, and a lot of new techniques work better than old techniques," said Thiele. Thiele said he prefers a more "holistic" approach in which police step up all traffic-related enforcement, because routine traffic stops can result in all types of criminals being caught. Asking for a crackdown on auto theft is likely to result in the police service saying it needs more money to do it, said Coun. Jane Batty. It's hard to tell if the recent spate of incidents represents a spike in auto thefts, she said, adding she plans to ask some commission members about it at a meeting on Tuesday. Batty recalls a time when cops sent local dealerships a list of hot cars to watch for, in case thieves tried to trade them in. "I think if they're not still doing that we need to go back and implement those programs as well, because we all need to be on the watch," she said. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 23:58:02 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Bow down before the Charter of Rights http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/jenkinson.html September 22, 2003 Bow down before the Charter of Rights By MICHAEL JENKINSON -- Edmonton Sun Canada's Parliament has been hijacked by members of a fundamentalist religion that adheres to the strictest interpretation possible of its holy writings. And no, I'm not talking about the Catholics, Protestants and other followers of the Christian faith who sit in the House of Commons. I'm referring to the Disciples of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a new sect that holds the charter to be sacred as it is interpreted exclusively by their perfect spiritual guides, the judges of Canada. Almost without fail, the MPs who last week voted against the Canadian Alliance motion to uphold the traditional heterosexual definition of marriage said that Parliament must legalize same-sex marriage because the courts have decreed it to be so - thy will be done in Parliament as it is in chambers. Much was made of the fact that in 1999, the same motion was overwhelmingly passed by the same government and that numerous Liberal MPs flip-flopped on their votes between then and now. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, for instance, admitted that in 1999 he voted in favour of upholding heterosexual marriage, but last week voted against traditional marriage: "As for whether the current definition of marriage infringes on the charter guarantees of equality, the courts have been clear and consistent. It does." And that alone explains the sudden change of heart in the attitudes of the many MPs who are Disciples of the Charter. Their spiritual guides told them that gay marriage was a human right as revealed in the holy Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Having had the word handed down from upon high, the only response of the Disciples is to bow down in worship, because like any good fundamentalist sect, independent thought and interpretation of the holy text is not permitted and obedience to the teachings of the spiritual leaders is prized above all. That's hyperbole, but only barely. Indeed, it's startling to see just how many MPs seem unwilling to even entertain the thought that the courts have erred in legalizing gay marriage. University of Calgary political scientist Ted Morton made a similar point in a recent National Post column. "The charter means what the judges say it means," he wrote. "But if this were the case, then our judges have ceased to be mere mortals and have achieved god-like infallibility." Certainly, that's how those who voted against in the Alliance motion in Parliament are acting. Prime Minister Jean Chretien admits to being personally uncomfortable with gay marriage, but the courts have ruled and so he must obey. We will "never use the notwithstanding clause," he has decreed, to override a judicial edict regarding the charter. Vancouver MP and charter disciple Hedy Fry even implied that it's necessary for judges to rule Canada via the charter because the public doesn't trust sinful parliamentarians. Citing a Globe and Mail series from earlier this summer, she said that "people under 34 have now come to believe that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the rule of law are of primary value for our country. They have said that they do not trust Parliament. We need to think about that. They trust the charter and the rule of law ahead of us in Parliament. We have made mistakes in the House. In this great House we have seen that we have created laws that were wrong and we sought to change them." Bloc MP Richard Marceau also fell prostrate in obedience, though I doubt whether he realized the inherent contradiction in his own argument. "These same three courts also ruled that, in a free and democratic society, changes to this definition (of marriage) could not be prevented," he said, oblivious to how a free and democratic society could not possibly have a choice in the matter. Of course, the thought that judges can never misinterpret the Constitution is absurd. That's why we have appeal courts, after all, because judges make mistakes. And Morton pointed out in his piece that American judges once ruled African slaves weren't human, and their counterparts in Canada once decreed that women weren't persons. Ah, but that was before the wisdom of the charter, the sacred text by which Canada is ruled. All the Disciples of the Charter need now is a good-sized coliseum and a few lions in order to deal with the heathen unbelievers. Michael Jenkinson can be reached by e-mail at mj@the-newsroom.com. His homepage is at http://www.the-newsroom.com. Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@edm.sunpub.com. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 23:58:33 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Queen Adrienne sits high above politics http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/worthington.html September 22, 2003 Queen Adrienne sits high above politics Trip with elite pals of no benefit to Canadians By PETER WORTHINGTON -- Toronto Sun Goodness. According to Gov.-Gen. Adrienne Clarkson, she doesn't "think" she's above politics, she "is" above politics. Technically, that may be true, but she's unlikely to remain as Queen Adrienne the First after her term expires and a new order is installed in Ottawa. Or, if not a "new order," the same old order with a new, or at least reconstructed, revitalized, reinvented PM. (However disappointing Paul Martin may prove to be, he's a hell of a welcome change from the vain, nasty, quasi-dictator he'll replace.) Who knows, maybe Martin will want Queen Adrienne to remain on the job for another term, which she'd welcome almost as much as her effete hubby yearns for it. The fuss Adrienne has got herself into is not so much the wasted $1 million (odds are it'll cost more), three-week trip to northern Russia, Finland and Iceland, but the rubbish that it somehow benefits Canada to have 59 friends and acolytes on this voyage of "polar" discovery. Adrienne denies they are friends. Well sort of denies it. "If I was having a trip with my friends, I'd have a trip with my friends," she says. Exactly. That's what a lot of us are grumbling about. Who of the freeloading invitees isn't a "friend?" Bob Rae and wife maybe? Michael Ondaatje? Arthur Erickson? One of the Inuit? Of course they're all admirers and friends in varying degrees of closeness. Admittedly, Adrienne may truly think that her friends are typical Canadians. She's CBC after all. She thinks they personify the national interest. There's no controversy over the GG's annual $19-million budget, and no concern about the 200,000 km in Canada she says she travels a year, visiting "80 to 90" communities. (Which is it, 80 or 90?) Adrienne's job is to carry the flag -- not be the flag. She seems to genuinely enjoy the accolades of people she visits -- again, with almost as much relish as hubby enjoys and demands a share of the spotlight. But boiled down, this is a useless trip she's hosting to these countries. Not useless to her and friends, but useless to Canada. And pointless. Round-table discussions with counterparts in Iceland, Finland and Russia. Where's the benefit? Will foreigners get an idea of what makes Canada tick? Not bloody likely. Those that this gaggle of Canadian "chosen" will hobnob with won't be typical of their countries, just as the friends of Adrienne are hardly typical Canadians. No, despite Queen Adrienne deigning to go on CBC Newsworld to make a political statement about being above politics, this not-so-pure and certainly not simple trip is nothing but a holiday. And a waste. Of course, Adrienne has defenders. John Aimers, chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada (there's quintessential Canada!) thinks we're lucky to have a "two for one" GG in Adrienne and hubby -- which is true, and which deeply offends some Canadians. Hubby seems too pretentious and pompous for a consort. The Globe and Mail editorially considers criticism of the trip is "awfully small." Fussing about the cost is to "nickel-and-dime" our highest office and the "admirable, hard-working woman who occupies it." Ho-hum. As it so often does, The Globe misses the point. By all means, let Adrienne and a modest entourage of professionals carry the flag to wayward places. She's done this before. But do it without friends and flatterers as witnesses. Adrienne was splendid to visit our wounded troops and raise morale by caring, but this trip in no way makes Canadians feel better or helps the country. It benefits only friends of Adrienne. That's what the fuss is all about, or should be. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 10:08:53 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: RCMP's closing of ballistics lab under review PUBLICATION: The Kingston Whig-Standard DATE: 2003.09.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: World PAGE: 11 BYLINE: Tim Naumetz SOURCE: CanWest News Service DATELINE: OTTAWA - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= RCMP's closing of ballistics lab under review - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= OTTAWA - Solicitor General Wayne Easter is reviewing an RCMP decision to refer provincial agencies to a firearms forensic laboratory in the U.S. to gather ballistics evidence against poachers in Canada. The RCMP decision to close its laboratories to the provincial wildlife agencies was announced internally last month, on the eve of the fall hunting season, and could hinder the ability of provincial agencies to prosecute illegal hunters, a spokesman for the provincial officers says. In an interview yesterday, Easter said the issue is "an operational matter" for the RCMP, but he has asked for a review of the policy after hearing from "a number of people across the country." RCMP forensic laboratories in Vancouver, Regina and Halifax have been doing firearms ballistics work for provincial wildlife agencies for decades, matching bullets and shell casings with hunting rifles to present in court as evidence in poaching cases. But the federal police force informed the provincial agencies in August it would discontinue the laboratory work "due to a continual increase in service requests and pressure on our firearms service" and offer laboratory work only when the investigations involve criminal charges. Canadian Alliance MP Garry Breitkreuz says he suspects the RCMP is under pressure because of extra work involved in administering the federal firearms registry, but the Mounties deny the allegation. At the same time, however, homicides involving firearms have been dropping steadily over the last decade, leaving no other obvious reason for the extra pressure on the laboratories. The RCMP referred all the provincial agencies to the National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., for forensic work on all non-criminal cases, including hunting out of season, exceeding bag limits and even shooting endangered species. There are several hundred poaching cases across the country every year. David Harvey, head of enforcement for the Saskatchewan Department of Natural Resources and president of an association of chiefs of wildlife enforcement agencies, said no provincial agencies are expected to make use of the Oregon laboratory because of the prohibitive cost and border problems with firearms. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 10:12:08 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Man, 76, charged with murder plot PUBLICATION: The Record (Waterloo Region) DATE: 2003.09.23 SECTION: Local PAGE: B1 SOURCE: RECORD STAFF DATELINE: NEW DUNDEE - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= Man, 76, charged with murder plot - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= A 76-year-old suspect in an alleged murder plot was arrested Sunday. Josef Kurt Ziebart, an Oxford County man who lives near New Dundee, was pulled over by police as he drove along Highway 97, near Highway 401, at around 6 a.m. The man was charged with counselling to commit murder, Waterloo regional police said. The term counselling to commit murder means asking someone else to commit a murder on your behalf, Staff Sgt. Bryan Larkin explained. Waterloo regional police and Oxford community police are working on the case together and would not give any details yesterday except to say the charge against Ziebart stems from a family dispute. Ziebart was also been charged with unsafe storage of firearms, after police searched his home at RR 1, New Dundee. Ziebart's 74-year-old wife was also charged with unsafe firearm storage. Ziebart is in custody and will appear for a second bail hearing on Thursday in a Woodstock court. At his first hearing yesterday, a judge granted a police request to postpone the hearing for 72 hours. Larkin said police need time to complete their investigation. Ziebart's wife has been released by police and will appear in a court in Woodstock at a later date. Police did not release her name. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 10:13:01 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Shooting victim had shady past: PUBLICATION: Edmonton Journal DATE: 2003.09.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: CityPlus PAGE: B1 / Front BYLINE: Jim Farrell SOURCE: The Edmonton Journal DATELINE: EDMONTON ILLUSTRATION: Colour Photo: Supplied / Police have issued a Canada-widewarrant for Shaun Darren Toon, 22. He may now have a shaved head and goatee. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= Shooting victim had shady past: Keith Raglon had been in court twice, for stabbing and on firearms charge - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= EDMONTON - The 20-year-old man shot early Sunday in a gangland-style killing was already in trouble with the law when he was a 15-year-old high school student. In 1998, Keith Hunter Raglon, another teen and an adult were charged after a 16-year-old student at M.E. LaZerte high school was stabbed in a dispute over a pager. Raglon found himself in trouble with the law again in June 2001 when he landed in provincial court at age 18, fighting a charge of possession of a prohibited firearm. One of the ways he fought that charge was to claim he didn't know the loaded gun he possessed was "prohibited." A provincial court judge ruled that ignorance was no defence. Little is known about the Raglon family's life in Edmonton. Last March, Raglon's father Doyle died suddenly at the age of 54. A relative who was reached in Kansas City, Mo., said it was a massive stroke. She declined to give her name and explained she was only a distant relative and didn't want to become involved. "We heard yesterday (Sunday) that Keith had been killed. Shot to death," she said. "That's all we know." Doyle Raglon was apparently well known in the Internet writing community in the United States. "Doyle could make me cringe under scrutiny about some political point or perhaps fill me with illumination, perhaps about his working the winter pipeline up in Canada, freezing ..., being one of the few black men in the camp," author Kenn Hartmann said in a message posted last June on a Web site. In another message on the Web site, Hartmann noted that Doyle Raglon was listed as the contact for an Edmonton bookstore on 118th Avenue. He was survived by his three children, and a brother and a sister in Kansas City. Police are still seeking 21-year-old Shaun Toon in connection with Sunday's shooting. Police believe the 5:30 a.m. killing in the parking lot of Athlone Community Hall followed an argument. They have issued a Canada-wide warrant for Toon on weapons and second-degree murder charges in connection with Raglon's death. Two years ago, Toon and another man were charged with firearm possession and stolen property offences after police pulled over their car and searched it. Packages of crack cocaine were also found in the car. jfarrell@thejournal.canwest.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 10:14:26 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: WANTED MAN TURNS SELF IN PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun DATE: 2003.09.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 20 COLUMN: Sunflashes - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= WANTED MAN TURNS SELF IN - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= A Woodbridge man suspected of pumping four bullets into a cleaner as he worked at a strip mall spa turned himself in to police yesterday and has been charged with attempted murder. The victim was shot twice in the leg, once in the foot and once in the face around 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Elite Spa, 4000 Steeles St., in Vaughan. He was taken to Sunnybrook hospital and is expected to recover. Columbo Malatesta, 42, has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and using a firearm in the commission of an offence. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 10:16:08 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: GANG BANGERS ON HAND AT KILLER PARTY PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun DATE: 2003.09.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 7 ILLUSTRATION: photo by CP SMOKE BARRIER A man in a scooter runs a gauntlet of smoke to cross an overpass in Hamilton, Ont., after a truck caught fire in a single-vehicle accident below on Highway 403. One person died in the crash. BYLINE: ANDREA SANDS AND RAQUEL EXNER, EDMONTON SUN - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= GANG BANGERS ON HAND AT KILLER PARTY - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= A 20-year-old man who died in a hail of bullets at a north-end community hall on the weekend was not well-known to police, but others who were at the party have gang connections, say cops. Shots rang out at the Athlone Community Hall, 13010 129 St., about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, terminating an argument between two men, police said. The shooting occurred as a loud party - which had prompted neighbours to complain to cops - was winding down at the hall. The party was being held to mark the anniversary of the death of Julian Wright, 20, who died in a hail of bullets just before midnight on Sept. 19, 2002, as he sat in a car near 145 Avenue and 54 Street. Officers arrived at the north-end hall on Sunday to find Keith Hunter Raglon, 20, of Edmonton, lying in the parking lot suffering from several gunshot wounds. He was rushed to hospital, but later died of his injuries. Police continue to hunt suspect Shaun Darren Toon, 22, of Edmonton, who is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for second-degree murder, using a firearm to commit an offence, carrying a concealed weapon and unauthorized possession of a firearm. The gang unit and homicide are investigating. Deputy Chief Fred Rayner told The Sun yesterday some of the people involved in the alleged shooting have gang connections and are known to police, "but that wasn't the crux of the issue." "Where other people would use words to resolve the dispute, or the more violent person would turn to physical assault to resolve a dispute, this person happened to be carrying a firearm and chose to use it," Rayner said. "The people that are involved are known to police. The people that are involved - at least one of them - made a habit of carrying a firearm." Witnesses told cops an argument between the shooter and the victim broke out between 5 and 5:30 a.m. Sunday, as the hall party wound down and after a crowd had spilled out into the parking lot. The shooter fired up to 10 rounds from what was likely a semi-automatic handgun. At least four rounds struck the victim, said police on the weekend. Rayner has looked into reports suggesting nearby residents phoned police with noise complaints before the attack, but that officers failed to respond until the shooting happened. "A preliminary look at it indicated that we didn't have any calls relative to noise complaints at the community hall until the murder," Rayner said. In May 2001, Toon was charged after cops pulled over a vehicle for a routine traffic stop and found in the car a stolen, loaded, large-calibre handgun, crack cocaine and cash. Toon was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime, possession of a restricted weapon and possession of stolen property. About a year earlier in June 2000, Toon was charged with aggravated assault after a bloody brawl involving 20 people broke out outside a Whyte Avenue bar and a man was stabbed in the back. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 10:17:41 -0600 (CST) From: "Breitkreuz, Garry - Assistant 1" Subject: Blues benefit aids boy shot with pellet PUBLICATION: Toronto Star DATE: 2003.09.23 SECTION: NEWS PAGE: A16 SOURCE: Toronto Star BYLINE: Harold Levy - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= Blues benefit aids boy shot with pellet - -------------------------------------------------------------------------= When 5-year-old Kadin Kendall was lying in hospital after being shot in the eye with a pellet gun, his mother called on angels to help him. "He's had a hundred angels beside him, but he needs a million more to get through this," his mother, Sarah Jayne Kendall, told the Star after the drive-by shooting July 13. Last night, some of those angels- bearing guitars, drums, basses and keyboards- went into action in a benefit sponsored by the Toronto Blues Society. Seventeen bands performed at four venues- the Silver Dollar Room , El Mocambo, Grossman's and Rancho Relaxo- to raise money to help Kadin through his recovery. One of the bands at the event, dubbed the "Million Angels Benefit," was the Downchild Blues Band, whose bassist, Gary Kendall, is Kadin's grandfather. By mid-afternoon yesterday more than 200 people had purchased the $15 buttons that allowed them to "crawl" through the four venues in the College-Spadina area. As he waited for sound checks at the Silver Dollar Room yesterday, Gary Kendall remembered a golden time for Kadin at the beginning of the summer. "He was riding a two-wheeler without the training wheels any more, taking swimming lessons, had joined a soccer league, and was planning a vacation with his mom to spend a couple of weeks with his great-grandmother," Kendall said. Although Kadin did not lose his eye and has vision, Kendall says surgeons cannot remove the pellet from his brain and he will be at risk for strokes and seizures for the rest of his life. "Life can be good, but life also has its rough patches ," he said. "And I think that all of the musicians involved tonight have experienced some of that themselves. That's what makes them so ready to help someone else, especially when it's a child," he said. Contributions can be made to the trust fund for Kadin Kendall at any TD-Canada Trust, to branch number 0374, account 622 4279. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V6 #505 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:akimoya@cogeco.ca List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca FAQ list: http://www.magma.ca/~asd/cfd-faq1.html and http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/homepage.html FTP Site: ftp://teapot.usask.ca/pub/cdn-firearms/ CFDigest Archives: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/ or put the next command in an e-mail message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca get cdn-firearms-digest v04.n192 end (192 is the digest issue number and 04 is the volume) To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next five lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-alert unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".) 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