If Public Safety Minister Bill Blair needs a face to put on the poster for Firearm Prohibition Order reform, look no further than repeat violent offender Joseph Endelle Chan.

On April 8, 2010, Joseph Chan masked his face before walking inside a Halifax barber shop with a stolen Glock pistol. He fired at least two shots before fleeing the scene.

He was arrested a week later with the same stolen Glock handgun and, after a trial, was convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

In April 2010 Chan was still subject to a firearm prohibition order as a result of his 2005 conviction on multiple weapons offences.

That 2005 prohibition order did not prevent Joseph Chan from obtaining the stolen Glock he used to shoot up the barber shop, and it’s a miracle none of the people inside the barber shop were injured or killed.

Canada’s Firearm Prohibition Order system is broken

• There is no legal requirement for police to track individuals with Firearm Prohibition Orders registered against them or routinely check them to ensure compliance.
• There is no legal requirement for individuals with Firearm Prohibition Orders to notify police when they move to a new residence. Police have no idea where these people are.
• No police agency in Canada tracks individuals with Firearm Prohibition Orders registered against them.

People with a history of violent offences are a proven danger to public safety, yet these are the people our government refuses to check on or track.

This is insane.

This insanity is why I keep pushing for the Government of Canada to hold violent offenders with Firearm Prohibition Orders against them to the same standard it holds as RCMP-vetted Possession and Acquisition Licence holders.

Violent individuals with a Firearm Prohibition Order registered against them:

• must notify the government of their change of address within 30 days or face up to 2 years in prison (just like licenced gun owners).
• must be screened daily by the RCMP’s CPIC system (just like licenced gun owners)
• must be subject to random police searches (just like licenced gun owners)

Violent career criminals like Joseph Endelle Chan understand a piece of paper from a judge can’t stop him from getting a gun, nor can that piece of paper stop him from using a gun to attempt to harm others.

The only way to stop violent repeat offenders like Joseph Chan is to check on them regularly to ensure they’re complying with the terms of their firearm prohibition orders.

Contact the Minister of Public Safety

Please write Public Safety Minister Bill Blair and demand he reform Canada’s Firearm Prohibition Order system so violent offenders are subjected to, at a minimum, the same level of scrutiny we apply to RCMP-vetted and licenced gun owners.

The Minister of Public Safety Canada can be contacted via Electronic correspondence, by regular post or by sending an email to the Honourable Bill Blair.

Canada Post (no postage required)

Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0A6

Joseph Chan’s Long History of Violence

Joseph Chan’s violent history dates back to 1995 and now includes over 30 convictions.

• September 5, 1995: assault with a weapon (Youth Court);
• April 18, 1996: aggravated assault (Youth Court);
• April 10, 1997: assaulting a police officer, assault with a weapon (Youth Court);
• September 12, 2000: robbery – sentenced to forty months as an adult;
• March 3, 2003: flight-from-police-while-pursued;
• September 1, 2005: possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition, possession of a firearm obtained by crime, and possession of a firearm and ammunition, contrary to a prohibition order.
• At least five convictions for breach of recognizance
• Five convictions for breach of a Youth Court disposition order.
• One conviction for drug trafficking and three for possession under the CDSA.

(See Para [28] of R. v. Chan, 2011 NSSC 471)