Liberal Failure: Ideology Ahead of Evidence-Based Solutions on Illegal Guns

When a former federal prosecutor was appointed Minister of Public Safety, we hoped it might finally bring a shred of common sense to the ministry.

If Marco Mendicino’s recent comments in the House of Commons weren’t enough to disabuse us of that notion, the appointment of Pam Damoff as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety most certainly was.

Pam Damoff’s visceral hatred for federally-licensed, RCMP-vetted firearms owners is well documented, but her comments before the House on December 1, 2021, surprised us. 

She said, in part,

“Darian Hailey Henderson-Bellman, a young woman from Halton region, was shot and killed in an act of gender-based violence.” [i]

Yes, but that is the tiniest part of the story. Here’s what Pam Damoff chose not to share with Canadians.

• An illegally possessed gun was used to murder Darian Hailey Henderson-Bellman on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.

• Darnell Reid, her alleged killer, was the subject of three separate Firearm Prohibition Orders and at least three separate No-Contact Orders.[ii]

• Darnell Reid repeatedly violated those orders in the 12 months prior to Darian Hailey Henderson-Bellman’s murder.

• Three separate weapons prohibition orders did not stop Darnell Reid from getting his hands on the illegal weapon he allegedly used to murder Henderson-Bellman.

• No law enforcement agency is tasked with checking on the 474,413 individuals currently prohibited from possessing firearms or other weapons.[iii]

 

Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Diraiappah was distraught when he heard of Darian Henderson-Bellman’s murder.[iv]

“The sadness I feel for the victim and her family is mixed with frustration for a complete failure of our justice system to protect her.

“This is such an egregious example of our justice system failing that young lady (and) failing our community. (Darnell Reid) was arrested for having a firearm and they let him back out again just recently. It’s unimaginable and so I want to continue advocating for bail reform.

“The Individual, who has now been charged with murder, breached his (bail) release on four different occasions… On the fifth, it was too late [for Darian Henderson-Bellman].”

We hope the colossal failures of our bail system and our Firearms Prohibition Order system will be the focus of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and his new Parliamentary Assistant.

We fear, given recent rhetoric from both Mendicino and Damoff, that Liberal ideology will continue to trump evidence, reason and common sense – and violent criminals will continue to harass and kill innocent Canadians with impunity.

 

 

Contact Marco Mendicino Today

Please write Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and encourage him to repair our bail system for repeat violent offenders, and to fix our broken Firearm Prohibition Order system.

Addressing these two problems will solve 95% of Canada’s public safety issues.

Send your letter, postage-free, to:

Minister Marco Mendicino
511 Lawrence Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario M6A 1A3

Telephone: 416-781-5583
Fax: 416-781-5586
Email: marco.mendicino@parl.gc.ca

 

 

 

Sources:

[i] https://openparliament.ca/debates/2021/12/1/pam-damoff-1/

[ii] https://christopherdiarmani.com/16029/crime/restraining-orders/darian-henderson-bellman-at-what-point-do-we-deny-bail-to-repeat-offenders/

[iii] https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/grc-rcmp/PS96-2019-eng.pdf

[iv] https://web.archive.org/web/20201011091435/https://www.peelpolice.ca/modules/news/index.aspx?newsId=651cf9ea-cfd3-445b-abcb-af595e898446