dave_j

It's not difficult to see that 'civilised' countries have a thin veneer of rules that allows us mild law abiding citizens to sleep soundly at night.
Stripping away this veneer can be accomplished by a poorly managed police force or a totalitarian one and with each you have different forms of anarchy, both of which have me reaching for the sleeping pills.
As I understand it, your argument suggests that the government hasn't the 'backbone' to allow the police to take the fight to the criminals. I'm not sure that this has anything to do with what shade of politics is in government, but more with the quality of those we put there.
You might argue that right leaning politics tends to beef up the police but that's not necessarily the case.
I mention Trump simply because he has demonstrated a tendency to support policing even to go as far as offering pardons to those who'll break the law for him and as witnessed in the Stanford Prison Experiment, giving unrestricted power to those unable to control it generally ends badly.
I agree with your comments concerning the Civil Service, but those tend to apply to most monopolies.
I'm not sure that Canada is left leaning, I'm more inclined to categorise it as a 'can't be bothered' society, one that thinks it knows what the rules are, it just can't be bothered to enforce them.

jeremy brewer

Former Lancastrian

Of course stopping the illegal guns being smuggled into Canada would be a great help but how do you stop it. You can't stop and search every vehicle entering and lets face it the known players aren't the ones smuggling them in when a number of cases have involved 50 year old plus adults with no criminal records have been caught at the border with several weapons in their vehicles. Its the same as drugs too many will risk it for a few thousand in their bank account and knowing they might get very little jail time if caught.

caretaker

Maybe increasiing resources by aquiring more gun sniffing dogs and handlers could put a dent in it, but ultimately the fight has to be taken to the end users, and reduce the appetite for the product. Even with good intelligence on gangs smuggling for themselves the supply of stolen guns from within Canada will still make it to crime scenes. These guys were probably looking really nervous, and easy to catch:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canad...ice/ar-AAGCtvm

magnumpi

dave_j

Almost Canadian

Trouble is, without sensible search powers, how to the cops find the firearms in the first place?

DaveLovesDee

Fair point.

Anything you try will be complained about by the innocent (civil liberties), the guilty (don't want to get caught), and do-gooders (Police state/racist/unfairly targets sections of the community).

I understand that those not involved in drugs and guns may feel unfairly targeted, but if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem some want dealt with as long as it doesn't involve them having to do anything.

Let's start with those sensible search powers, make weapons searches for those on bail or parole a requirement of that bail/parole, home, personal and vehicle searches. And the suggestion by Magnumpi of 5 years is too short, make it 5yrs for a blade, 10+ for an unlicensed weapon. Double the jail time for a second conviction (and triple for a third) and no early parole.

caretaker

Do you have to buy special unicorn food or does he just eat hay? The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation proposed a minimum 5 year sentence for crimes committed with a firearm in about 1968 and it didn't get anywhere, and it still wouldn't. Mandatory sentencing and 3 strike laws that don't take into consideration the circumstances of each case don't work in the US, and they won't work in Canada for the same reasons. The US privatises prisons that provide substandard confinement at great cost whereas we let the provinces and federal government run the jails at great cost and build new prisons and fill them as necessary.
Toronto is still rated the 6th safest city in the world...
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toront...port-1.4573536

Almost Canadian

I have tried to think of a factual situation where one could justify a reduction of a fixed sentence for carrying an unlicensed firearm and I can't. Can you?

dbd33

My gun is in my car where I pay little attention to it. My gun license expires. I'm stopped for speeding. The officer asks about the gun.

dave_j

Why carry a gun in the first place?
'Ahhh' I hear you say, 'I'm carrying it for personal protection against all those other law breakers. but I'm such an idiot that I can't be bothered to update my licence'
'So', I hear the judge say, 'When you're protecting yourself and mistakenly shooting someone else because you missed, that'll be alright then? Not good enough. Send him down!'

dbd33

That's not a legitimate reason to have a gun in Canada

Former Lancastrian

So what type of vehicle is the gun in? Are you just on your way hunting or on your way back or taking it to a gunsmith for repairs otherwise why do you have a gun visible in your car?

• Vehicle storage: Gun must be locked in the trunk area or other similar compartment. If vehicle does not have such a compartment, the firearm must be put out of sight and the vehicle locked securely.

Firearms Storage and Transportation

Almost Canadian

And that justifies a reduction because?

As you are aware, one doesn't need a licence for any weapon providing, of course, one can establish that at the time it was purchased, you held a valid licence. The use of the words "unlicensed firearm" above was a little clumsy as no firearm is actually licensed in Canada.

Aside, of course, from the fact that, in Canada, such a search of your vehicle would, likely, be unlawful.