Canada’s Firearms Prohibition Order system (FPO) is broken.
This is undeniable.
Violent career criminals threaten public safety with illegal guns when our justice system plays “Catch and Release” instead of “Hold Them Accountable.”
This, too, is undeniable.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino knows the FPO system is broken, yet he steadfastly refuses to lift a finger to fix this national embarrassment.
Instead, Mendicino deceives ordinary Canadians and misdirects from his own glaring failures by laying the blame at our feet.
If Marco Mendicino’s handling of the Public Safety Ministry was an episode of Sesame Street, it would be brought to you by the letters “B” and “S”.
Cases in point…
Edward Sands
Edward Sands is a lifelong repeat offender with 44 convictions for assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, flight from police, resisting police, drug trafficking, and four prior convictions for possession of a weapon while prohibited.
On March 13, 2023, Justice Mark Poland sentenced Edward Sands to 18 months in prison for violating nine (9) previous Firearms Prohibition Orders and he added a tenth.[i]
“The reality is that Mr. Sands has not gotten the message,” Justice Poland said. “He’s been repeatedly told and he’s repeatedly thumbed his nose at the order of the courts.”
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino declined to comment on this case.
John William Baverstock
On August 25, 2022, police arrested John William Baverstock and charged him with two counts of possession of firearm contrary to a prohibition order.[ii]
These charges came as the result of an investigation into the home invasion and assault on its resident where police charged Baverstock with 18 criminal offences and another two counts of violating a Firearms Prohibition Order.
Police arrested Baverstock again on or about March 16, 2023.[iii] This time police charged him with violating a Firearms Prohibition Order, a slew of drug trafficking offences and failing to comply with a probation order (seven counts).
Why was John William Baverstock, a man charged with a violent home invasion, out on probation at all?
This is one of many questions that Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino refuses to answer.
Jason Krysta
On March 28, 2017, just before Lloydminster RCMP executed a search warrant, they stopped a “vehicle associated with the location and found a significant amount of Canadian currency, a .45 caliber handgun and the driver was found to be in possession of a loaded .22 caliber pistol.”
Lloydminster RCMP arrested Jason Krysta and three others and charged them with four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, three counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of property obtained by crime, and various weapons offences.
In 2021, police arrested Jason Krysta and charged him with assault, break and enter with intent, two counts of robbery, two counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and failure to comply with a release order.[iv]
On January 11, 2022, police arrested Jason Krysta again and charged him with 10 offences, including aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and two (2) counts of violating his Firearms Prohibition Order.[v]
On May 18, 2022, police arrested Jason Krysta again for drug trafficking offences for cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, MDMA and prescription drugs.[vi]
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino declined to comment on why Jason Krysta, a career criminal, was free to commit these crimes.
Sean Michael Greenwall
On September 8, 2021, police arrested Sean Greenwall for drug trafficking and also charged him with five counts of violating his Firearms Prohibition Order.[vii]
On November 25, 2021, police arrested Sean Greenwall in possession of over $100,000 of stolen property, including 15 stolen guns. They charged him with a host of property and weapons offences, including violating his Firearms Prohibition Order.[viii]
Minister Marco Mendicino has no comment on why Sean Greenwall, another repeat offender, was out on bail threatening public safety again.
The Common Denominator…
Thousands of violent, repeat offenders are charged every year for violating their Firearms Prohibition Orders.
In every single case, these charges are tacked on after police arrest the criminal for committing more offences. Police just happened to catch these criminals while they possessed more illegal guns.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is the common denominator for every one of these cases where a violent, repeat offender is released while they await trial on their previous round(s) of criminality.
Minister Mendicino sweeps aside all questions about why so many violent, repeat offenders are routinely released into our communities so they can threaten public safety again.
Minister Mendicino could remedy this gross negligence in a moment, yet he steadfastly refuses to lift a finger to do so.
Instead, Minister Mendicino insists that the firearms possessed by federally-licensed, RCMP-vetted firearms owners – not violent repeat offenders like Edward Sands, John William Baverstock, Jason Krysta or Sean Michael Greenwall – are the problem.
Minister Mendicino’s denigration of the most law-abiding segment of Canada’s population – licensed firearm owners – is brought to you, as noted at the top of this commentary, by the letters “B” and “S”.
Sources:
[i] https://www.theobserver.ca/news/local-news/walpole-island-man-blasted-for-defying-weapons-bans-sentenced-to-18-months
[ii] https://www.norfolktoday.ca/2022/08/31/two-norfolk-residents-charged-following-armed-robbery/
[iii] https://www.norfolktoday.ca/2023/03/16/134390/
[iv] https://www.sasktoday.ca/north/local-news/krysta-faces-weapons-assault-charges-in-sask-and-alta-5077917
[v] https://www.canadapolicereport.ca/2022/01/14/red-deer-rcmp-arrest-three-suspects-from-lloydminster-for-aggravated-assault-2022/
[vi] https://www.canadapolicereport.ca/2022/05/27/lloydminster-rcmp-execute-drug-related-search-warrants-four-suspects-charged/
[vii] https://www.sherwoodparknews.com/news/multiple-people-charged-with-trafficking-related-offences
[viii] https://www.pipestoneflyer.ca/news/wetaskiwin-rcmp-execute-search-warrant-recover-stolen-property/
Liberals Opt for Political Theatre Over Public Safety