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 #662 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 Wednesday, November 23 2005 Volume 08 : Number 662 In this issue: RCMP skimps on recertifying contract officers PM backs gun summit; PM to hold summit on gun violence CBC: Just some of your thoughts on Rex Murphy's "Point of View" DISARMING GUN MAY HAVE SAVED TEEN'S LIFE CHURCH VICTIM TOTING GUN? PM to attend city meeting about curbing gun violence ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:18:03 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: RCMP skimps on recertifying contract officers NOTE: Versions of this story also ran in the National Post and the Victoria Times Colonist. PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen DATE: 2005.11.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A5 BYLINE: James Gordon SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen NOTE: Auditor General's Report WORD COUNT: 443 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RCMP skimps on recertifying contract officers: Training gaps threaten public health, safety; open force to risk of litigation, Fraser says - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gaps in training for RCMP officers contracted out to the provinces may be compromising public health and safety, Auditor General Sheila Fraser has found. Every one to three years, the force requires its officers to complete mandatory certification and recertification in six critical areas, including first aid, CPR and use of the baton and pistol. In her latest report to Parliament, Ms. Fraser found 57 per cent of contracted peace officers met all six mandatory training requirements in 2003. A year later, the number plummeted to just 6.2 per cent. "We found that gaps in training may be preventing the RCMP from meeting its clients' expectations of fully trained police officers," the report said. "It may also be leaving itself open to the risk of litigation." The RCMP has also failed to ensure all rookie officers complete mandatory six-month on-the-job training stints, including pairing up with coaches full-time for the first eight weeks. At a press conference yesterday, Ms. Fraser called the findings in her latest report to Parliament "quite troubling." The Mounties blame staffing shortfalls, an issue Ms. Fraser also addressed at length in the report. The RCMP provides about 10,700 officers to 11 provinces and territories at an annual cost of $1.6 billion. The force projects a need for almost 1,400 new cadets per year over the next four years, due mostly to an increased demand for contract work. The capacity of its training facility in Regina allows for only 1,200 annually, however, and the number can't be increased in the near future. Smaller detachments are already facing gaps when officers are absent because of illness, parental leave, holidays and suspensions. While there are some ad hoc mechanisms to deal with shortfalls, such as temporarily deploying officers from other areas, the report noted openings remain for long periods of time while remaining officers are forced to do the extra work. "This places the RCMP at risk of overloading the remaining peace officers in these detachments," it reads. Deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay latched onto Ms. Fraser's finding that the Mounties are meeting contracting obligations at the expense of federal policing. The auditor general found vacancy rates as high as 25 per cent in some federal policing areas, including drug interdiction and organized crime units. "The RCMP budget for contracting policing is shortchanged and that shortfall is made up by taking budgets away from units for terrorism and organized crime," he charged in the House of Commons. "Why should anyone believe the government is serious about fighting organized crime when they are under-resourcing?" Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan responded that the Mounties' budget has recently climbed from $2 billion to $3 billion. She added the government accepts the findings, and the RCMP pledged in the audit to ensure contract and federal policing deployments are split. Despite the shortfalls, Ms. Fraser pointed out that municipalities and provinces are generally pleased with the service they receive. - ---------------------------------------------------- PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL DATE: 2005.11.23 PAGE: A1 BYLINE: MICHAEL DEN TANDT SECTION: National News EDITION: Metro DATELINE: Ottawa ONT WORD COUNT: 543 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORT Poor training for RCMP imperils safety, auditor says - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inadequate or incomplete training of many of the country's 18,000 RCMP officers threatens to compromise public safety and that of the police themselves, Auditor-General Sheila Fraser has found. In a wide-ranging audit of government operations released yesterday, Ms. Fraser found that only 6.2 per cent of the national police force's officers met all of their mandatory training requirements in 2004, a huge decline from 2003, when 57 per cent did so. "Gaps in training, qualification, and certification may affect the health and safety of peace officers and the public," the report concludes. Last March, four Mounties ranging in age from 25 to 32 were gunned down in Alberta by a deranged man, James Roszko, who killed himself. The tragedy raised questions about whether the four officers were adequately trained and prepared. The RCMP continues to investigate the matter. Ms. Fraser's report does not address the shootings in Mayerthorpe, Alta., or any other specific case, but paints a broad portrait of a police force struggling with budgetary constraints even as its loss of staffdue to demographics and attrition is set to rise sharply. All Mounties are required to re-qualify in six key policing skills -- pistol, baton, pepper spray, the use of neck holds, first aid and CPR -- at intervals ranging from one to three years. But significant numbers are not doing so. Though nearly 80 per cent of officers met the requirement for pistol recertification in 2004, fewer than 50 per cent re-qualified on neck holds or the use of pepper spray and batons. Fewer than 40 per cent met their first-aid qualification last year, while fewer than 20 per cent met the training standard in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. At the same time, an audit of recruit training revealed significant and growing deviations from the force's stated standards. For example, newly graduated RCMP cadets are required to undergo a six-month "coaching" period when they begin active duty. During their first two months on the job they're to be paired full-time with a senior officer. But in many cases that isn't happening, the audit found. Sixteen per cent of recruits do not receive the full coaching period, the audit found. A significant minority of the coaches -- 12 per cent in the audit -- are junior officers, with less than two years of experience. Most RCMP officers, about 60 per cent, are engaged in contract policing, whereby the Mounties provide police service to eight provinces (Ontario and Quebec have provincial police forces), the territories and 192 municipalities, as well as more than 500 native communities. But although clients expressed general satisfaction with the policing they receive, the Mounties have no system for monitoring their performance, the audit found. Moreover, the force's focus on contract policing has impinged on its national policing effort in areas such as drug interdiction and organized crime as resources have become strained. In contract provinces, the audit found vacancy rates in those two areas as high as 25 per cent. The Mounties also face a staffing crunch, the audit noted. The force expects to lose up to 700 of its 11,000 contract officers in each of the next five years through attrition. It projects demand for nearly 1,400 new cadets each year for the next four years in order to meet increasing demands from its provincial, territorial and municipal clients. - ----------------------------------------------- AUDITOR GENERAL REPORT - NOVEMBER 22, 2005 Royal Canadian Mounted Police-Contract Policing Contract obligations generally met but staffing and training need attention http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/media.nsf/html/20051101pr_e.html PUBLIC SAFETY MINISTER McLELLAN ON THE SHORTAGE OF 1,059 RCMP OFFICERS http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/publications/2005_new/33.htm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:28:40 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: PM backs gun summit; PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star DATE: 2005.11.23 EDITION: MET SECTION: News PAGE: A7 BYLINE: Sean Gordon SOURCE: Toronto Star DATELINE: OTTAWA ILLUSTRATION: Ashley Fraser FOR THE TORONTO STAR Sandra Carnegie-Douglas,head of the Jamaican Canadian Association, speaks to a news conference in Ottawa after she and a coalition of black leaders met with Prime Minister Paul Martin last night. WORD COUNT: 533 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PM backs gun summit; Martin meets with black leaders from Toronto 'National crisis' facing youth, activists warn - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Prime Minister Paul Martin has committed to attend a high-level gun violence summit after a direct and impassioned plea by activists from Toronto's black community, who want immediate solutions to what they see as a "national crisis." A coalition representing 25 community groups met Martin behind closed doors in his Langevin Block office for about an hour last night, and emerged to say the encounter had been fruitful, and in the words of one attendee "historic." They made a proposal to set up "an immediate and intense" offensive against gangs and guns that would include "a massive deployment of youth workers across our communities." Toronto Mayor David Miller and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty have already agreed to attend any such summit. The coalition members also spoke of the need for a community healing initiative and eventually setting up an economic and social development agency run by blacks for blacks. "We are looking for all three levels of governments to acknowledge what the impact has been ... on our young men; they're the ones who are dying. We are losing our children and we feel this is a crisis of national proportions," said Sandra Carnegie-Douglas, president of the Jamaican Canadian Association. Martin didn't comment on the discussion other than to say "it was a good meeting" and though it's clear that a summit can't be organized until after the upcoming federal election, GTA Liberals said they are committed to following through. "Clearly you've got a community that's hurting. You've also got a community that's finally, after many years, come together to try to deal with serious problems within their own community. ... They can't do it alone and we don't want them to have to do it alone," said Liberal MP Judy Sgro (York West). Sgro and Etobicoke-North MP Roy Cullen - whose riding includes the church where 18-year-old Amon Beckles was shot Friday while attending a funeral for another slain teen - attended the meeting and both agreed with the coalition's conclusion that more money should be funnelled to groups that better understand the African-Canadian community's problems. But Deputy Conservative Leader Peter MacKay said the meeting was "all about pre-election optics" and predicted it would yield few results as federal parties gird for an election. "Having this type of a feel-good, touchy meeting is nice. It makes for a good backdrop and a good photo-op, but it's the follow-up that people are interested in, not the photo-op," he said. The Coalition of African Canadian Organizations said it will take a series of initiatives aimed at root causes like poverty, school safety and social exclusion. "Unless we address, in partnership with all three levels of government, those particular issues, we will never find solutions that will be lasting," said Hugh Graham, president of the Black Business and Professionals Association. The group said governments have dragged their feet in addressing gang activity and violence. Carnegie-Douglas predicted gun crimes would be an election issue, and blamed part of the problem on systemic racism. "We're saying, aren't the lives of young black men important to the leaders of this country, aren't their lives important to the rest of Canada? And should this not be a priority on everyone's agenda?" she said. "The fact that almost 50 young black men have died this summer is a crisis. That's a national crisis." with files from Susan Delacourt ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:28:54 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: PM to hold summit on gun violence PUBLICATION: The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) DATE: 2005.11.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: National PAGE: B8 SOURCE: Canadian Press DATELINE: OTTAWA WORD COUNT: 278 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PM to hold summit on gun violence - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OTTAWA (CP) -- Prime Minister Paul Martin has committed to holding a high level summit to deal with Toronto's gun violence, says a coalition of African Canadian groups. Members of the coalition met with Martin Tuesday in Ottawa, asking his Liberal government to declare Toronto's gun violence a national crisis. There have been a record four dozen homicides in Toronto involving guns this year, and gun violence has quickly become an issue in the federal election campaign that's expected to begin next week. The group also called for more money to build critical social and economic programs for young people in troubled neighbourhoods. "It is a matter of more money," said Margaret Parsons, director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic. "What the prime minister has put forward last week is a start," she said. Ottawa's plan includes $50 million over a five-year period to develop programs for troubled youth and expand a crime prevention strategy to include a gun violence and gangs-prevention fund. "A portion of those funds must come to, and be targeted to, the African-Canadian community and (its) service providers," said Parsons. However, combating gun violence has to be a collaborative effort, acknowledged Hugh Graham, president of the Black Business and Professionals Association. "We recognize that the answer lies with the community," Graham said after the meeting with Martin. "And we are demonstrating, by the fact that we have put together a coalition of some 24 organizations, that we certainly as a people intend to ensure that the answer lies within the community and is delivered by the community." Toronto is still reeling from Friday's fatal shooting of 18-year-old Amon Beckles. He was shot while at a church attending the funeral of a 17-year-old friend who was also killed by gunfire this month. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:29:32 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: CBC: Just some of your thoughts on Rex Murphy's "Point of View" PUBLICATION: CBC Television (The National) DATE: 2005.11.22 TIME: 22:00 EST SECTION: The National COLUMN: The National WORD COUNT: 296 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REX MURPHY (COMMENTATOR): The wretched gun registry has been absolutely useless in assisting police in finding the villains who have been killing people. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MARK CIOFFI (VIEWER FROM TORONTO): (Letter): The gun registry is a complete waster of time and money. As a police officer working in Toronto's inner core, I have first-hand knowledge of this. Has anyone thought to ask police officers what they think will help solve the gun crisis in Toronto? Marc Cioffi, Toronto. CHRIS BRADSHAW (VIEWER FROM VANCOUVER): I'm Chris Bradshaw in Vancouver. Simply because the gun registry hasn't helped solve some gun crimes doesn't make it useless. An extensive database of gun owners will help authorities when police need to raid a home, when violence is threatened, especially domestic violence, or when a gun can be traced back to a perpetrator. No one ever said the gun registry will help solve or prevent all crimes. It is simply another tool that authorities can use to investigate and prevent gun violence. PIERRE AUBRY (VIEWER FROM MONTREAL): I'm Pierre Aubry in Montreal. The gun registry was never intended to solve every gun crime. Most murders are family dramas or accidents that happen with guns in the house. The gun registry ensures that these are going to be diminished by ensuring that persons who are not qualified do not hold guns, and by keeping guns under lock and key. JUDY BOBKA (VIEWER FROM CORNWALL): (Letter): The gun registry is a wasteful make-work project. What does this campaign do to protect citizens? We keep throwing more and more money into this big black hole. Judy Bobka, Cornwall, Ontario. PETER MANSBRIDGE (HOST): Just some of your thoughts on Rex Murphy's "Point of View" from last night. CBC meteorologist Claire Martin is coming up next with the weather. That's The National for this Tuesday. I'm Peter Mansbridge. Thanks for watching. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:29:46 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: DISARMING GUN MAY HAVE SAVED TEEN'S LIFE PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun DATE: 2005.11.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 28 BYLINE: NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA DATELINE: CALGARY WORD COUNT: 171 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DISARMING GUN MAY HAVE SAVED TEEN'S LIFE - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A teenage girl's foresight to unload a gun later used in a bid to kill her saved her life. Cops said the 16-year-old survived a point-blank shooting attempt, which occurred when a family argument turned violent, because she had taken the clip out of the revolver hours earlier. Det. Gord Robertson said the teen's death-defying ordeal began Sunday night when her father allegedly returned to their Calgary basement suite home. The father, who did not approve of his daughter's boyfriend, allegedly flew into a rage, Robertson said. When the only other person in the home - - the girlfriend of the teen's brother - tried to defend the girl, cops said she was pushed out of the way. Robertson alleges the 44-year-old man then threatened to kill his daughter and slapped her in the face before she and the other teen fled for refuge in a bedroom. Cops say the father grabbed a .25 calibre semi-automatic pistol and began hammering on the door, threatening to kick it in. "The minute she opens the door he shoves the gun in her face and pulls the trigger twice," Robertson said. "He thinks the gun jammed and storms off frustrated." Robertson said she had found the gun before her father came home and removed the clip, which she hid in a vase. Harinder Singh, 44, faces one count of attempted murder and 17 additional charges. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:30:02 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: CHURCH VICTIM TOTING GUN? PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun DATE: 2005.11.23 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 4 ILLUSTRATION: photo of AMON BECKLES Killed Friday BYLINE: TOM GODFREY, TORONTO SUN WORD COUNT: 230 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHURCH VICTIM TOTING GUN? TAKEN AFTER SHOOTING: RESIDENTS - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Police are probing reports that gunshot victim Amon Beckles was carrying a weapon for a "Jamaican salute" when killed by triggermen he likely knew outside a Rexdale church. Beckles and others were planning the "salute" -- a sign of respect in gang circles during which shots are fired in the air --for murder victim Jamal Hemmings, 17 , some residents said. Beckles, 18, was killed last Friday while attending a funeral service for Hemmings at Seventh-Day Adventist Church, on Albion Rd. His family members yesterday denied Beckles was carrying a weapon when killed. But area residents said the gun was removed from the scene before police arrived. "We had heard that there was a weapon," Toronto Police Supt. Ron Taverner said yesterday. "It will not be a first and anything is possible at this time." Residents, who didn't want to be identified, said Beckles' killers live in the nearby Mount Olive housing complex, less than 1 km, and that many people know who they are. Police suspect Beckles was killed because he witnessed the murder of Hemmings, who was slain for shooting a gang member and for an incident involving a woman. Beckles, the father of a baby girl, had a minor criminal record but is not known to have associated with gangs or guns, family members said. His mom, Nadia, said the family is preparing for some tough times. "The days ahead will be very difficult for us," she said yesterday. "I am having a hard time coming to grips with his death." A trust fund has been set up for the Beckles family at the Royal Bank. The account number is 1040831 and transit number is 6302. Visitation for Beckles will take place tomorrow and Friday at Ward Funeral Home on Weston Rd. The funeral service is on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Abundant Life Assembly on Dixon Rd. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 08:30:58 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: PM to attend city meeting about curbing gun violence PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL DATE: 2005.11.23 PAGE: A12 BYLINE: BRIAN LAGHI SECTION: Toronto News EDITION: Metro DATELINE: Ottawa ONT WORD COUNT: 540 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PM to attend city meeting about curbing gun violence Mayor, Premier and community leaders to join Martin in strategy-planning session - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BRIAN LAGHI OTTAWA Paul Martin has agreed to join in a high-level meeting with Dalton McGuinty, Mayor David Miller and black community leaders in Toronto to find ways to curb burgeoning gun and gang violence. Mr. Martin made the commitment yesterday after an hour-long meeting with a group whose members he failed to see two weeks ago, when he visited the city to announce measures to combat the problem. Yesterday, however, the Prime Minister agreed to a get-together to discuss whether Ottawa and the other two levels of government could do more to mitigate the violence that has taken place this year. Most recently, a young man was shot to death on the steps of a church at the funeral of a friend, also a shooting victim. So far, 48 individuals have been shot dead in Toronto, the majority of them young black men. "We feel this was a historic moment for us," said Sandra Carnegie-Douglas, a spokeswoman for the Coalition of African-Canadian Organizations. "For the first time, a sitting prime minister has met with African-Canadians on our agenda." The group did not have a date for the meeting, but members said they hoped it could happen before the election, now expected to be called next week. The organization is asking Mr. Martin to boost the $50-million he announced recently when he visited the city. The government has also committed to a legislative package that includes higher minimum penalties for gun smuggling and for carrying a loaded gun in a public place. Parole for individuals convicted of firearm offences would also be restricted. Members said they want to see an anti-gang strategy put in place across Toronto and implemented by African-Canadians. That would include a massive deployment of youth workers, employment and job skill programs, and a plan for community healing. "It's not only families that have been impacted by this violence, but the African-Canadian community as a whole," Ms. Carnegie-Douglas said, adding that the recent violence has led to stereotyping of the community. The Prime Minister agreed to the group's request to review the programs, said MP Roy Cullen, in whose Etobicoke North riding much of the violence has taken place. Another Liberal MP who took in the meeting, Judy Sgro, blamed provincial and federal government cutbacks that took place in the early 1990s for some of the violence. She also cited education programs that require individuals to be thrown out of school for acting up. "If you kick that young fellow out of school, where's he going?" she asked. ". . . He'll be in a gang in no time at all." Mr. Cullen said the Prime Minister asked the group whether funding in the area might be better spent. Asked whether it was a matter of needing more money, or of reprofiling the cash that is already being spent, an official with the coalition said increased resources are a must. "It is a matter of more money," said Margaret Parsons, the executive director of the African Canadian Legal Clinic. "What the Prime Minister has put forward is a start. What we have said is that those funds, or a portion of those funds, must be targeted to the African-Canadian community." Mr. Martin met with the group after its members repeatedly wrote to the Prime Minister. The group accused the PM of unveiling the recent measures without consulting its members. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #662 ********************************** 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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