From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #306 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 Monday, August 8 2005 Volume 08 : Number 306 In this issue: Letter: No-fly tardiness Editorial: Making Toronto a safer city POLICE ARREST MAN WANTED FOR GUN THEFTS Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair on the recent spate of shootings Police reported seizing a rifle, a shotgun and an assault rifle. Research links pregnancy, risk of being killed: EDITOR (Gun violence in this city should be an election issue EDITOR (Right) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:18:12 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Letter: No-fly tardiness PUBLICATION: National Post DATE: 2005.08.08 EDITION: National SECTION: Letters PAGE: A15 BYLINE: Robert S. Sciuk SOURCE: National Post WORD COUNT: 151 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ No-fly tardiness - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Re: 'No-Fly' List By 2006, Aug. 6. I read of Jean LaPierre's announcement of Canada's new "culture of security" with more than a little skepticism. We'll just have to wait and see if it can match the efficacy of Safety Minister Ann McLellan's "culture of safety" -- typified by the firearms registry. I get very nervous whenever any of the federal Cabinet ministers uses the word "culture," and its close cousin the overdone catchphrase "Canadian values." It seems that the federal Liberals have taken ownership of those now utterly meaningless phrases as if they were the sole proprietor of the national crown jewels. Yawn! Robert S. Sciuk, Oshawa, Ont. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:18:30 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Editorial: Making Toronto a safer city PUBLICATION: National Post DATE: 2005.08.08 EDITION: National SECTION: Editorials PAGE: A14 SOURCE: National Post WORD COUNT: 667 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Making Toronto a safer city - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Amid the rash of gun violence that has afflicted Toronto recently -- 16 shootings during a two-week span, including one in which a four-year-old boy was wounded -- the temptation has been to find scapegoats and quick solutions. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the responses of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller, both of whom have attempted to blame the flow of illegal handguns from the United States. It's not that Messrs. McGuinty and Miller are wrong to be concerned about firearms crossing into Canada; better border security would no doubt help get guns off the streets. But it is at most a small piece of the puzzle. If Canada's largest metropolis aims to maintain its long-held status as one of North America's safest cities, each of the following would be at least as useful as concentrating on the borders, and in some cases more so: - - Tougher sentencing. Nearly a decade ago, Bill C-68 amended the Criminal Code to include mandatory four-year sentences when firearms are used in the commission of any of 10 serious offences. But judges and prosecutors have been lax in following through on this requirement, bargaining most sentences down. As a result, sentences serve as insufficient deterrents, and repeat offenders find themselves back on the streets in short order -- leading to as many as 25% of suspects arrested in gun crimes having previous records for similar offences. On other fronts, Messrs. McGuinty and Miller have both gotten results with concerted efforts to lobby Ottawa. It is incumbent upon them to turn their attention to this issue. The length of mandatory sentences should be upped significantly, and courts should be compelled to enforce them. - - An increased police presence. The hiring of 1,000 new police officers across Ontario was recently announced, with the provincial government picking up half the cost. But that's not good enough. Statistics collected in other jurisdictions demonstrate an inverse relationship between the number of officers on the street and the number of offences committed. In light of the mounting challenges it faces, Toronto's force should be beefed up substantially, with new resources directed toward the city's trouble spots. - - Community leadership. It is widely known that the bulk of recent gang violence has afflicted Toronto's Jamaican community, but political correctness has led to this fact being mostly ignored. This must change. Politicians and officials must direct their efforts toward that specific community -- as former police chief Julian Fantino did in travelling to Jamaica to explore the roots of Canada's gang violence. But even more importantly, leaders within the Jamaican-Canadian community must take tangible steps to help tackle the problem -- including helping to forge a better relationship with police that encourages witnesses to come forward after crimes are committed. - - Tougher immigration and deportation policies. As has been well-documented, much of the gang violence plaguing Toronto's Jamaican community was initiated by recent arrivals with a history of gang violence. While we can't turn back the clock, we must be more vigilant about whom we let in -- and we must enforce the deportation process so that those ordered out of the country do in fact leave. - - Learning from others. While excessive gang violence may be relatively new to this country's streets, Americans -- as left-leaning Canadians are fond of pointing out -- are more familiar with it. In New York, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, police have adopted complex strategies to cut down on gun violence. Many of their methods, no doubt, could usefully be applied here. Not one of these steps, taken on its own, will be enough. But by implementing these and other strategies together, it should be possible to stem the tide of gang violence in Toronto. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:18:47 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: POLICE ARREST MAN WANTED FOR GUN THEFTS PUBLICATION: The London Free Press DATE: 2005.08.07 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A2 ILLUSTRATION: photo of BENJAMIN MAY BYLINE: MELINDA DALTON, FREE PRESS REPORTER COLUMN: Local News WORD COUNT: 197 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ POLICE ARREST LONDONER WANTED AFTER GUN THEFTS - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ London police have nabbed a man wanted in connection with a June break-in and the theft of six guns from a west London home. "We were keenly interested in apprehending him and we're very satisfied that it's been done," Const. Amanda Pfeffer said yesterday. A man was spotted shoplifting by a security guard about 6 p.m. Friday at the Price Chopper grocery store on Commissioners Road at Wellington Road, police said. The guard tried to arrest the man as he was leaving the store, but he ran off, police said. The officer and several staff members chased him, but he managed to outrun them after assaulting the security officer. He ran to Commissioners Road, where he stopped a vehicle and ordered a driver to take him away. The driver refused and was assaulted as the man tried to steal the car. Police arrived and arrested a man. Benjamin May, 23, of London is charged with shoplifting, robbery and two counts of assault, in addition to charges he faces from June. May was wanted in connection with a break-in June 25 at a home on Chelsea Avenue. The homeowner reported six firearms and a crossbow were missing from his residence after the break-in. A London woman, 19-year-old Amber McCabe, was arrested at the home and charged with break and enter and possession of stolen property. On July 21, police released a photograph of May and appealed to Londoners for information on his whereabouts. Operation Ceasefire, a task force set up by London police to investigate a recent string of gun violence, were called into the investigation because four firearms missing from the home were not recovered. "We were very concerned that (May) was still in possession of these weapons, or knew where they could be located," Pfeffer said. Two of the guns and the crossbow were recovered before May's arrest, but police are searching for the remaining weapons. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:20:24 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair on the recent spate of shootings PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star DATE: 2005.08.07 EDITION: ONT SECTION: News PAGE: A4 BYLINE: Sikander Hashmi SOURCE: Toronto Star ILLUSTRATION: Lucas Oleniuk toronto star Toronto Police Chief Bill Blairleaves the Arab Youth Forum at the Canadian Arab Federation yesterday afternoon, where he addressed the concerns of young Arabs in Toronto. WORD COUNT: 773 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guns, gangs and getting tough; Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair talks to the Star about the city's recent spate of shootings and his plans to curb it - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A 27-year-old man was shot dead Friday night at a townhouse complex in the Finch Ave. and Victoria Park Rd. area. Melbourne Whittick was in an altercation with two men at a bus stop when they shot him. He is the latest victim of a rash of gun violence in Toronto in the past two weeks. It started with six shootings in one 24-hour span nearly two weeks ago, followed by three more over 12 hours last weekend. In all, 18 people have been wounded or killed in 14 shootings. The Star spoke with Toronto police Chief Bill Blair yesterday about the violence of the past two weeks. Star We have (18) victims hit by gunfire in two weeks. What word describes the situation in your opinion? Blair Well, I think certainly it's a concern to every citizen in Toronto. The violent crimes that have occurred in this city are things that offend us. We've seen so many innocent people injured. The police are committed to getting the guns off the street and getting the gunmen off the street. We need the community's help. And I have to tell you, I've gone around to all the communities in the city; I am finding people throughout this city are willing to work with the police, they are concerned about the safety - their safety and the safety of their children in their neighbourhoods and we are working very, very closely with all of the people in all of the neighbourhoods. I know I have some problems in certain neighbourhoods and we're working in those neighbourhoods. We don't want to relinquish our efforts in other neighbourhoods, in all of the neighbourhoods. So we're working very hard to keep a good police presence everywhere, throughout the city, and I think we have a responsibility to maintain good policing in every neighbourhood while responding to the concerns of particular neighbourhoods. I'm confident that with the community's help - and I know I've got some excellent people out there working on the gun and the gang problem - we can bring the people responsible for these crimes to justice and restore the safety of our communities. Star How much of this do you think has to do with gunplay between rival gangs? Blair I think certainly we're seeing some rivalry between some of our urban and street gangs. Part of the problem is, there is a battle going on between different gangs but also one of the problems we're seeing is that, because people who are involved in the gang activity have ready access to firearms, we're also seeing those firearms being utilized to resolve disputes, even within the gangs themselves or even neighbourhood disputes, just disputes between individuals. Because there is an availability of firearms in our communities, those firearms are so often being brought in to resolve these disputes, and that violence is just unacceptable. Star So gangs are an integral part of the problem? Blair Yeah, it's gang and gang culture and the accessibility of weapons and the willingness of a handful of young people to use those weapons in a very callous way, in a way that has no regard for the lives and safety of innocents and people of our city. Star Can you name any of the gangs that are involved? Blair Well, you know what, we're working very hard on those gangs and I'm reluctant to start identifying the ones we are targeting. All of our enforcement and investigative efforts are on right now. We'll roll them up and my job is to disrupt and dismantle those gangs and I have some very good people working on this. Star You have initiated a task force. What progress has it made? Blair The progress ... in the very first day that they were out, we supplemented investigations currently under way in the city dealing with guns and gangs and street violence, and our impact task force that works with the organized crime aspect of our urban gangs. The additional resources we put in there in the first day, they made several arrests. There were six handguns seized in the 24 hours following the shootings that took place up on Driftwood. It's not the end. We know there are many guns out there. We know there are many violent gangsters out there that need to apprehended. But it's a good start. Star Kids are probably scared to go out with all that's been going on. What message do you have for children? Blair Well, certainly, we share ... the neighbourhoods that have been affected by this violence, we share their concern. We'll be working very hard, making sure we have uniformed officers up in their neighbourhoods to help restore a sense of safety in their neighbourhoods. The safety of our communities and the safety of our young people is our first priority. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:21:33 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Police reported seizing a rifle, a shotgun and an assault rifle. PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald DATE: 2005.08.08 EDITION: Final SECTION: City & Region PAGE: B2 SOURCE: Calgary Herald WORD COUNT: 90 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Robbery suspect arrested in raid - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crime - Calgary police have nabbed a suspect believed to be responsible for holding up 19 businesses at gunpoint. Investigators executed a search warrant at a home in the 3200 block of Dovercliffe Road S.E. on Friday. Darryl Edward Weatherly, 41, was arrested and charged with robbery with a firearm in connection with the July 22 holdup at the Extreme Bean coffee shop in the 3300 block of 3rd Ave. N.W. Weatherly faces 11 further charges with respect to weapons seized. Police reported seizing a rifle, a shotgun and an assault rifle. A second man at the residence, Steven Phillip MacDonald, 57, was arrested on an outstanding warrant. Police have been searching since May for the person responsible for holding up a string of businesses at gunpoint. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:25:01 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Research links pregnancy, risk of being killed: NOTE: Versions of this article also appeared in the following papers: Montreal Gazette, Winniepg Free Press, Calgary Herald, Victoria Time Colonist, Saskatoon Star Phoenix PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen DATE: 2005.08.07 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A5 BYLINE: Katherine Dedyna SOURCE: The Victoria Times Colonist DATELINE: VICTORIA ILLUSTRATION: Photo: Lou Dematteis, Reuters / Liana White's husband hasbeen charged with killing her. The Edmonton woman, was four months pregnant. In an infamous U.S. case, Scott Peterson was found guilty of killing his wife, (Laci), and her unborn son. A growing body of U.S. research points to murder as a major cause of death in pregnant women.; Photo: The Canadian Press / (Liana White)'s husband has been charged with killing her. The Edmonton woman, at left, was four months pregnant. In an infamous U.S. case, Scott Peterson was found guilty of killing his wife, Laci, and her unborn son. A growing body of U.S. research points to murder as a major cause of death in pregnant women. WORD COUNT: 817 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Research links pregnancy, risk of being killed: Canadian police begin compiling own stats - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ VICTORIA - The high-profile deaths of Liana White of Edmonton and Laci Peterson of California have captured public attention at a time when a growing body of U.S. research points to murder as a major cause of death in pregnant women. In Canada this year, for the first time in more than 40 years, police departments across the country have started specifying on homicide forms whether murdered women were pregnant. The results, expected by the fall of 2006, should reveal the magnitude of the problem here, says John Turner, chief of policing services programs for the Ottawa-based Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. Mr. Turner suspects pregnancy is not a significant factor in murder in Canada because the issue has so far raised so little attention, but adds, "We haven't been collecting (the data), so we don't know for sure." A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control published earlier this year in the American Journal of Public Health concluded homicide is a leading cause of pregnancy-associated injury deaths in the U.S. The study found 617 of 1,993 injury-related deaths of women while pregnant or within a year of being pregnant were murders -- more than 30 per cent. That was second only to vehicle accidents, which killed 879 women. Black women faced seven times the risk of white women. The findings were based on reports to the Centers for Disease Control's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System from 1991-99. The system, however, reveals nothing about the relation between perpetrators and victims and whether there's a history of abuse, the group's researcher Jeani Chang noted. Even the U.S. National Violent Death Reporting System does not mandate the inclusion of pregnancy information. A 2002 U.S. study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology found five per cent of women killed by their partners were pregnant, with the risk for murder or attempted murder tripling when there was abuse during pregnancy. But too little is known to assume the situation in Canada mirrors the U.S., where being black, without prenatal care, and in the sights of someone with access to a firearm are significant risk factors. "I think there's reason to be alarmed and concerned and presume that there will be some relationship (to U.S. rates), but it is a different context,'' says Colleen Varcoe, an expert on women and violence and an associate professor of nursing at the University of B.C. Some research has been done on pregnancy and abuse in Canada. In 1993, Statistics Canada reported that 21 per cent of women who were abused by partners said it happened during pregnancy. Two other Canadian studies found about six per cent of pregnant women in health facilities reported abuse during their pregnancy, according to a 2000 discussion paper of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. While Canadian research has found male violence can go up or down during pregnancy, Ms. Varcoe notes it can also be a time when battering begins. Ms. Varcoe calls the change to how police collect data in Canada an important step, but a small one, saying research on the topic in this country is about 10 years behind the U.S. "If we're interested in saving lives and, more importantly, limiting and ending violence, there's a whole series of steps that have to be taken far beyond simply collecting data after women have already died.'' Ms. Varcoe says what's also needed is better research on how many women are almost killed while pregnant. "For every woman who's been murdered, there are more women who are living in terror and there are more attempted murders behind that," she says. "We know that abuse during pregnancy is a huge predictor of whether a woman will be killed or not.'' According to an 11-city study published in 2003 by the American Journal of Public Health, the risk of femicide -- killing a woman -- goes up when a man has access to a gun, if he's made previous threats with weapons, if his stepchild lives in the home and if the woman is estranged from the man. Often, the only help women get is being told they have to leave the man. And that can actually increase the risk, she says. Ms. Varcoe says financial policies that support women are crucial because the biggest factor in whether women enter abusive relationships is economic dependency. The little available support is typically focused on after the baby is delivered, not before, she adds. "We have known about the seriousness of this problem for a long period of time and it's very dramatic and terribly additionally tragic when it's a pregnant woman that's killed,'' says Ms. Varcoe. "But I think that women ought to be valued for their own lives. And if we could be looking at particularly social welfare policies that would be equitable and allow women to have some level of economic independence, then we would be doing far more." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:25:16 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: EDITOR (Gun violence in this city should be an election issue PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun DATE: 2005.08.07 EDITION: Final SECTION: Editorial/Opinion PAGE: C6 COLUMN: Letters to the Editor LAX LAWS TRIGGER OUTRAGE We all wonder where our leaders are when a young person is gunned down in the streets or someone is shot simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time or when a gang of thugs decides to beat someone up for a pack of smokes. Our laws are so lax that there is no reason to fear punishment. Our politicians have turned a blind eye to crime and violence. Ask yourself when was the last time you heard any elected official take a stand at any level of government. Why is it our politicians seem to want to protect these violent criminals and ignore the seriousness of what is happening in our communities? We hear people talk about minimum sentences for carrying a gun -- five years, and 10 for use of a firearm --but nothing ever happens. It seems our elected officials would rather play golf than do their jobs. I guess the only people we can blame is ourselves for continually voting for these boneheads. Or maybe the politicians have it right and we are the boneheads. H.MARTIN MISSISSAUGA EDITOR (Gun violence in this city should be an election issue - --federally, provincially and municipally) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:25:28 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: EDITOR (Right) PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Sun DATE: 2005.08.07 EDITION: Final SECTION: Comment PAGE: C25 BYLINE: OTTAWA SUN COLUMN: Letters to the Editor If the voters in large urban areas are sick of gun violence, the answer may be on the Order Paper in Parliament. Bill C-215, a private member's bill sponsored by Daryl Kramp (Prince Edward-Hastings), provides for minimum sentences for carrying a firearm (five years); discharging a firearm (10 years); shooting someone other than an accomplice (15 years) while committing an offence. All of the above to be served consecutively to any other penalty for, say, robbery or assault. This proposed law is proceeding, albeit at a glacial pace, through the House. The problem seems to be the Liberal Party of Canada who tried to vote it down at second reading. It stayed alive only by dint of the Speaker breaking the tie to keep it in the "pipeline." It is time for the people of Toronto (sending Liberals to Ottawa ad nauseam) to contact their MP and demand he or she support this legislation. Only when judges are forced to incarcerate these violent criminals will society be well-served. Tell your MP to be part of the solution or, come next election, be considered part of the problem. Tom Empey Belleville EDITOR (Right) ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #306 ********************************** 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".) If you find this service valuable, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the freenet we use: Saskatoon Free-Net Assoc., P.O. Box 1342, Saskatoon SK S7K 3N9 Phone: (306) 382-7070 Home page: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/ These e-mail digests are free to everyone, and are made possible by the efforts of countless volunteers. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this digest as long as it not altered in any way.