On February 23, 2017, Conservative MP Rona Ambrose introduced Private Member’s Bill C-337, the Judicial Accountability Through Sexual Assault Law Training Act, to ensure all prospective judges would receive proper training about sexual assault law prior to being appointed to the Bench. Her proposed legislation was a direct response to Justice Robin Camp’s conduct in R. v. … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2020
My American Friends: Beware of Canadian Gun Laws
On October 25, 2019, Washington State lawyer Shawn Bertram Jensen crossed the border into Canada at Osoyoos, British Columbia. Customs agents found a loaded Ruger .22 handgun and a Colt AR-15 with standard capacity magazines and ammunition in his vehicle. Shawn Jensen’s AR-15 standard capacity magazines are, under Canadian law, classified as Prohibited Devices. (see Overview … [Read more...]
Dillon Ricky Whitehawk: Firearm Prohibition Order Didn’t Prevent Three Murders
Dillon Ricky Whitehawk, a violent young man already subject to a Firearm Prohibition Order, is charged with first degree murder in the killings of Jordan Denton in November 2019, Keenan Toto in December 2019 and Keesha Cree Alexandra Bitternose in January 2020. He enlisted the aid of fellow gang members Kurtis Clayton and Kelly Renee Stonechild to murder Bitternose. They … [Read more...]
Paul Batchelor: Accused Serial Rapist Released On Bail
On December 21, 2015, alleged serial rapist Paul Batchelor was arrested by Ottawa Police for sexual assault and released on bail. His case took years to wind through the legal system and ended with his shocking acquittal in June 2019. Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Beaudoin accepted Batchelor’s evidence that he had consent in both cases, a claim that differed wildly … [Read more...]
Jacob Malone: Former Youth Pastor Turned Sex Offender Faces Attempted Murder Charges
Jacob Malone, a former Pennsylvania youth pastor, needed to read his Bible more often. If he had, he would probably not be in prison for sexual assault nor would he be facing new charges of conspiracy to commit murder. Instead, Jacob Malone failed to heed the Biblical warnings provided by the story of King David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel chapter 11. "On February 24, 2020, … [Read more...]
Priceless: Travis Bader’s Letter of Apology From the RCMP
In early February I had the pleasure of interviewing Travis Bader, founder and owner of Silvercore Advanced Training Systems, at his offices in Ladner, BC. It's an interview I've wanted to conduct for many years so it was a real treat to finally have the opportunity to sit down and speak with him in person. While I wrote extensively about Bader's case and the RCMP corruption … [Read more...]
Motor City Madness: Are Detroit’s Civil Forfeiture Abuses Coming to Canada Next?
On February 4, 2020, The Institute for Justice filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Detroit, hoping to end the Motor City’s “seize and ransom” vehicle program. Detroit’s policing for profit scheme is very lucrative, as all money received through civil forfeiture goes directly to the police department responsible for the seizure. “Wayne County has seized more than … [Read more...]
Justin Trudeau and the COVID-19 Crisis: How Invoking the Emergencies Act Could Affect You, Your Family and Your Liberty
UPDATE: Nova Scotia declared a state of emergency on Sunday, March 22, 2020. Introduction This is a somewhat lengthy and, at times, technical assessment of the powers afforded the federal government by the Emergencies Act, known as the War Measures Act prior to 1988. As of Sunday, March 22, 2020, all provinces and territories have either declared a state of emergency … [Read more...]
Richard Francoeur: Violent Repeat Offender is Released On Bail?
NOTE: On September 6, 2020, Richard Francoeur wrote to take issue with my characterization of him in this commentary, claiming he's turned his life around. I've offered to interview him and tell his side of the story. Should he agree and the interview takes place, I'll publish that interview in its entirety. Richard Francoeur is the latest in a long … [Read more...]
Former Halifax Cop Gary Basso Appeals Assault Conviction
Gary Lawrence Basso, a former Halifax Regional Police constable, is appealing his conviction and sentence for punching a homeless man in the face on February 25, 2018. Basso was on duty at the time of the assault. On January 31, 2020, Judge Halfpenny-MacQuarrie sentenced Gary Basso to 90 days in jail to be served on weekends, one-year probation and a 10-year firearms … [Read more...]
Tyrell Davey’s Useless Firearm Prohibition Order
The refusal of our government to check on and track violent criminal offenders with Firearm Prohibition Orders registered against them almost cost some Saskatoon bar patrons their lives on March 3, 2020. Tyrell Davey, 25, already has an existing Firearm Prohibition Order against him. This piece of paper didn’t stop him from stealing an SKS rifle, loading it, then walking … [Read more...]
Constable Paul Zarafonitis, Photographer Michael Farkas and Police Brutality
In Canada it is legal to film police while they perform their duties in public. Unfortunately, too many police officers believe the opposite and violate our rights, often with violent consequences to the photographer. Michael Farkas is one man who paid a high price for photographing police. That price came in the form of a brutal beating at the hands of Niagara Regional … [Read more...]
Joseph Endelle Chan: Poster-Criminal for Firearm Prohibition Order Reform
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 … [Read more...]
BC’s Residential Tenancy Branch: Where the Rules are More Important Than People
At some point common sense must trump rigid bureaucrats and their blind obedience to the rules. That point won’t be today for landlord Jason Rivero who rented an apartment to, unknown to him, a convicted killer in November 2018. Alexander Tanasescu did not disclose his manslaughter conviction to Jason Rivero when he rent Rivero's apartment. On January 10, 2020, … [Read more...]
MP Cheryl Gallant Tables Bill C-222 to Limit Expropriations of Private Property
In Canada, property rights are provincial jurisdiction, except when they’re not. There is some federal overlap and overreach, and it’s the overreach Cheryl Gallant addresses in her Private Member’s Bill C-222, introduced to Parliament on February 17, 2020. To understand how intertwined these issues are, it’s necessary to briefly delve into the history of property rights and … [Read more...]
Firearm Licence Holders: Is a Political Beliefs Test Next?
A political beliefs test for German gun owners may coming if their Interior Minister gets his way. This desire to test for thought crimes is sparked by Germany’s latest lunatic with a gun and his hate-filled internet manifesto. Once a gun owner beliefs test implemented there, you can bet it will come to Canada next, courtesy of Loki Hulgaard's Racist Manifesto or another one … [Read more...]
Peter Snelson – Rest in Peace
UPDATE 2020-03-11: Added video of Blaine Calkins' speech in the House of Commons memorializing Pete Snelson This is via the Canadian Shooting Sports Association. I've known Pete Snelson for the better part of two decades and, like so many of us in the battle for our rights and freedoms, never met him in person until about five years ago. When I did finally look … [Read more...]
John Williams – Rest In Peace
This is via the Canadian Shooting Sports Association. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of John Williams, owner of Williams Arms and a long-time friend of the CSSA. John is remembered by his loving family and all those who dealt with him in his many business ventures over the years. A kind and generous man, John was also a valiant warrior in our … [Read more...]
Another Racist Manifesto, This Time From a Licenced Canadian Gun Owner
In his timeline of events, Loki Hulgaard (aka Brendan Stanley Dell) refers to the Jewish Occupation Government (J.O.G.) and claims he is being persecuted by J.O.G. and by police who he claims “probably illegally” searched his home, seizing guns, ammunition and cash. Police were able to charge Hulgaard with firearms offences because Hulgaard made it easy for them to do … [Read more...]
Free Speech: Tulsi Gabbard, Google and the First Amendment
On July 25, 2019, Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard – the most searched-for candidate on Google for about 15 seconds last year – sued the tech giant for $50 million for violating her First Amendment rights. In a decision published on March 4, 2020, U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson shot down Gabbard’s lawsuit, leaving nothing but a smoking ruin … [Read more...]
Trudeau-Appointed Judge Condones Violence Against Women
On January 13, 2018, Matthew Brown got high on magic mushrooms, stripped naked, then broke into the home of Professor Janet Hamnett. He beat her with a broom handle so badly he was covered in her blood when he ran from Hamnett’s home. In a decision I can only describe is repulsive, Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice Michele Hollins refused to hold Matthew Brown … [Read more...]
Peter Khill’s Self-Defence Acquittal Reversed – New Trial Ordered
"How interesting it always is to cover a criminal trial and to actually be there and thus get the feel of the thing, only to be sternly corrected after the verdict is in by those who never set foot in the courtroom. "So it is now, in the aftermath of the not guilty verdict in the Peter Khill trial in Hamilton, Ont." Christie Blatchford, Race was not a factor in the Peter … [Read more...]
John LaFleche Bludgeons Wife and Two Young Children to Death With a Baseball Bat
This is part of my ongoing series on Canadian Mass Murders. On Sunday, March 5, 2006, John LaFleche got really, really drunk, fought with his estranged wife Wendy, then grabbed an aluminum baseball bat and bludgeoned her to death. Then, fearing his children would grow up in abusive foster care like he did, LaFleche beat 7-year-old Victoria and 3-year-old Jesse to death … [Read more...]
St. Louis Cop Nathaniel Hendren’s Penchant for Russian Roulette Kills Fellow Cop Katlyn Alix
Occasionally, people who should know better do really stupid things. Those stupid things can leave a person dead, as they did in the early morning hours of January 24, 2019. St. Louis Police Department officers Nathaniel Hendren and Katlyn Alix played a game of Russian Roulette at Hendren’s home. Katlyn Alix lost. On February 28, 2020, Nathaniel Hendren pleaded guilty … [Read more...]
Remembering Mayerthorpe RCMP’s Fallen Four
This is part of my ongoing series on Canadian Mass Murders. On March 3, 2005, a violent man with a long criminal history and a lifetime firearms prohibition order against him used an illegal gun to murder four RCMP constables in Mayerthorpe, Alberta. Anthony Fitzgerald Orion Gordon Lionide Nicholas Johnston Brock Warren Myrol Peter Christopher … [Read more...]