Drug dealers love their illegal guns. That’s the theme I see repeated every week as I track how many criminals are re-arrested for violating the Firearm Prohibition Orders against them because of a previous run-in with the law.

Today’s commentary continues this series about Canada’s failed and broken Firearm Prohibition Order system and the criminals who flagrantly violate those orders.

On Valentine’s Day 2021, a cab pulled up in front of a hotel in the Sargent Park area. Inside the cab were two suspects for whom Winnipeg’s Guns and Gangs Unit had a search warrant.

The cab sped off as soon as the suspects saw police.

Police officers followed the cab and watched one of the occupants toss a series of items out the window. Police arrested the female occupant of the cab, and after a short chase, arrested the male suspect as well.

The items thrown from the moving taxi were recovered, 75 grams of Fentanyl with a street value of $15,000 and 8 grams of Methamphetamine worth $800, leading to a litany of criminal charges against the pair.

Adam Channing Douglas Carr, 33, now faces criminal charges for:

• Possession of a Scheduled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking – Methamphetamine
• Possession of a Scheduled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking – Fentanyl
• Careless Storage of Firearm
• Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm in Motor Vehicle
• Possession of Proceeds of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000
• Possession of a Weapon
• Possession of a Prohibited or Restricted Firearm with Ammunition
• Possession of a Firearm Knowing its Possession is Unauthorized
• Possession of Firearm, Restricted/Prohibited Weapon or Ammunition Contrary to Prohibition Order – four counts

The unidentified female suspect faces criminal charges for:

• Possession of a Scheduled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking – Methamphetamine
• Possession of a Scheduled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking – Fentanyl
• Careless Storage of Firearm, Weapon, Prohibited Device or Ammunition
• Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm in Motor Vehicle
• Possession of Proceeds of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000
• Possession of a Weapon, Possession of a Prohibited or Restricted Firearm with Ammunition
• Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm

Adam Carr was remanded in custody.

The unidentified female suspect was released on a promise to appear.

Adam Carr is a repeat offender with a firearm prohibition order against him.

For reasons nobody can properly explain to me, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair isn’t concerned with dangerous and potentially violent repeat offenders like Adam Carr.

He is far more concerned with confiscating and destroying my legally-owned and legally-stored firearms than he is with stopping career criminals with illegal guns…. like Adam Channing Douglas Carr.

Minister Blair’s hatred for firearms in the hands of mere citizens is well-documented.

His thoughts on violent, career criminals with illegal guns is far less known. From his legislative efforts in the past week, it appears clear illegal guns are really not a concern, nor are those criminals who use them.

I don’t understand it.

I never will.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, Canada’s Firearm Prohibition Order system is broken

When will you introduce legislation to track, trace and check on violent criminals with Firearm Possession Orders? 

Adam Channing Douglas Carr is another example of how Canada’s Firearm Prohibition Order system is broken and must be fixed.

Common sense dictates our scarce police resources should be devoted to those individuals who pose the greatest risk to public safety, yet these are the people Canada’s legislators and police totally ignore.

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.

• No police agency in Canada tracks individuals with Firearm Prohibition Orders registered against them.
• There is no legal requirement for police to track individuals with Firearm Prohibition Orders registered against them or routinely check on 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.

There is a better way.

Britain devotes specialised police units to check on individuals under Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPO). Think of Britain’s SHPO as Canada’s Firearm Prohibition Orders but for sex offenders, and with powers of enforcement our FPO system totally lacks.

Under British law, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order places specific obligations on the offender, and it also gives police the power to ensure individuals convicted of offences under the Sexual Offences Act obey those judicial restrictions.

This is the same Firearm Prohibition Order system New Zealand is trying to implement today.

Individuals with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (Source) registered against them must:

• Notify authorities if they do not have a fixed address;
• Notify authorities of any change of address or name within three (3) days;
• Notify authorities of any place they have resided or stayed for at least seven days, whether for seven consecutive days or for a cumulative period of seven days in any 12-month period;
• Notify the police of information contained in, or in relation to, their passport, bank account, credit card or debit card at each notification;
• Declare their SHPO to any actual or potential employers;
• These notifications must be made in person and police may, at their discretion, take photographs and/or fingerprints each time.

All Sexual Harm Prevention Orders are registered in the Police National Computer (PNC), Britain’s version of our Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) – Canada’s central police database where law enforcement agencies can access a wide range of information.

In Canada, Firearm Prohibition Orders are accessible via CPIC, but no police agency is tasked with checking on or searching these violent offenders to ensure they are living within the terms of those orders.

British police have the right to check on and search individuals with an SHPO at any time to ensure compliance.

Canada must apply this same strategy to dealing with repeat offenders with Firearm Prohibition Orders.

The only thing standing in the way of Firearm Prohibition Order Reform is Justin Trudeau, his Minister of Public Safety, Bill Blair, and his Justice Minister, David Lametti.

Contact the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety

If you, like me, want to see violent criminal offenders tracked and checked on to ensure they are abiding by all of their conditions of release, including Firearm Prohibition Orders, please write Justice Minister David Lametti and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair and demand they introduce legislation to implement these reforms immediately.

The Honourable David Lametti
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8
Email the Minister of Justice

The Honourable Bill Blair
Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0A6
Email the Minister of Public Safety