| PUBLICATION:
The Ottawa Sun DATE: 2005.09.26 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 14 BYLINE: MARIA MCCLINTOCK, PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU WORD COUNT: 646 ILLUSTRATION: 3 photos 1. photo by Ernest Doroszuk, SUN CO-OPERATION between the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms department and Ontario and RCMP weapons officers has resulted in illegal guns being traced on a regular basis, an ATF agent says. 2. photo of STEVE CLEGG No magic answer 3. photo of DAVID WILKINS Eyes border -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW CANADIAN AND AMERICAN AUTHORITIES ARE JOINING FORCES TO STEM ILLEGAL WEAPONS FLOW ACROSS BORDER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The illegal gun trade between Canada and the U.S. has caught the attention of President George W. Bush's administration. The U.S. government is operating Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms offices in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver and there may be further expansion on the horizon. "We are growing. Toronto is the largest city in Canada and so it just seems logical to put some of our additional resources in that city," says ATF special agent Mark Curtin. EXPANSION As part of the expansion plans, the ATF's top security Internet gun tracing program -- E-Trace -- will be expanded to the RCMP and its gun-smuggling support team known as NWEST in the coming weeks, he says. Curtin, posted at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, is restricted in what he can divulge. But he can say the co-operation between his organization and Canadian counterparts at the Provincial Weapons Enforcement (PWE) Unit in Ontario and the RCMP has resulted in illegal guns being traced on a regular basis. He cites a recent case in which his office was called upon to help PWE on an "urgent trace" in connection with a Toronto shooting. The information on the gun in question was fed into ATF's headquarters in West Virginia. A hit came back within two hours, Curtin says. "The public should know that there are aggressive professional partnerships and programs going on across Canada and the United States," he says. "Unfortunately, we only hear about the problems or issues which may arise and the general public is not advised about the great, solid work done by outfits like PWE and the RCMP." Curtin admits it's difficult to pin down an exact number of guns coming into Canada illegally. "The ambassador (David Wilkins) said that we either can change the U.S. constitution or we can shut down the border and search every car going back and forth between the U.S. and Canada -- and neither one of those things are going to happen," says Curtin. "The way guns are coming into Canada are the way they've been coming into Canada for a number of years -- two or three at a time." The good news is advancements in technology and communications have greatly enhanced the ability of law-enforcement agencies to trace the source of illegal weapons. When ATF started tracing guns used in crime in 1988, 48 weapons were U.S.-sourced. By 2004, ATF had traced 260,000 guns used in crimes committed in the U.S., Canada and other countries. PWE's commander, OPP Det. Inspector Steve Clegg, works with the ATF and agrees trying to pin down a specific number of guns getting into Canada illegally is a bit like chasing a ghost. "It's not uncommon that some of the guns that we seize do originate from the United States, but we also have issues domestically, where we have guns that are being stolen from residences, businesses and turned over to the street to the criminal market," Clegg tells Sun Media. His unit was formed in 1994 and is made up of 42 detectives from 12 Ontario police departments, including the RCMP and Canada Customs. How do police battle the gun wars raging on the streets of some of Canada's big cities? Clegg says specialty squads like his are one answer. If judges would punish gun-toting criminals to the fullest extent of the law, that would help too, he adds. CONCEALED WEAPONS "In some cases, we do see it happening, in others we see the Criminal Code could be applied in a better manner." Clegg says the "criminal element" isn't looking for rifles or shotguns -- they're in the market for more easily concealed weapons. In 2004, Clegg's unit seized more than 1,800 firearms. So far this year, PWE has seized more than 600 guns and laid 920 Criminal Code charges against 170 people. "Are you going to stem the demand for firearms? I don't think you are. There's always going to be a demand. Why are we experiencing so many shootings in Toronto right now? Why does a 16-year-old punk need to have a gun?" Clegg asks. "There is no magic answer. Let's try and eliminate some of these violent shootings and get a grip on the violence." Customs and Excise Union president Ron Moran says more stringent controls at the border are needed -- border guards seize an estimated 5% of the illegal guns believed to be transported from the U.S. into Canada. "What it says is there is a very, very high potential law-enforcement opportunity that's knowingly being given up," says Moran. "There's 225 unguarded roads that cross into the country, most of which you can use without driving a four-wheel drive vehicle and most of which are plowed during the winter," he says "Those stem from the era when the honour system worked. To leave them unguarded completely is ludicrous," he adds, calling for a tougher, American-style border patrol. "Obviously, it's very easy to get a gun into the country if that many (guns) are not intercepted. It becomes very frustrating because you're hired and you're part of an organization that purports to be the filter." FIREARMS HOMICIDES
|