Canada has strict gun control laws and the legal acquisition of a hand-gun is a daunting process. One needs to have been a member of a recognized gun club for some time and to have been trained in a course run by its officers. Two permits are required to merely purchase the weapon, but it will remain in the store until a transport permit is acquired. The police will run a background check as part of the permit application and may visit the home of the gun owner to check compliance with storage laws. The pistol owner is allowed to take his pistol from his home, travel directly to an authorized gun club, fire it under supervision and return home immediately. If he is found to be in violation of regulations, his pistol (and perhaps his whole collection) may be impounded and destroyed.
Despite these tough regulations, cities like Toronto and Montreal face a growing problem with pistols in the hands of criminals. Jamaican posses, Vietnamese home-invaders and independent back robbers have few problems getting hand guns. Some weapons like Glock automatic pistols and other 9mm or .45 calibre automatics are often encountered by police. Patrons in after-hours clubs often carry small light calibre pistols. A count of crimes involving firearms which are publicized in the Toronto media shows a major increase in the triangle defined by Oshawa, Hamilton and Barrie over an 18 month period.
The count enumerates the individuals involved in each incident as reported in the Toronto Star, the Toronto Sun and local news on CITY-TV. If three men use one pistol in a hold-up all three are counted, except in the case of four mass brawls where one or two fire-arms were present — these are not included.
The other side of the arms dealing among the Native tobacco smugglers is acquisition of arms for sale elsewhere. On October 29th, 1992 the RCMP charged 11 people in Ontario as part of a cigarette smuggling operation. One was a Nova Scotian Micmac, the remainder were Iroquois, including Troy Montour, Art Montour Junior and Curtis Styres. Christopher Sandy of Ohswekan was charged with 17 offences relating to the possession and sale of restricted weapons and the possession of a firearm with the serial number removed. Art "Sugar" Montour faced nine counts of possession of a restricted weapon and Peter Nordyne of Montreal faced 10 charges in connection with the movement of restricted/prohibited weapons and a small amount of cocaine were also seized.
In January 1993, four Mohawks were arrested in connection with the illegal acquisition of 400 handguns from a Burlington, Vermont gun shop. James Cross, Veronica and Tyler Hemlock have since pled guilty to a number of charges laid as a result of the incident. Kevin Philips (a Close friend of Dick Hill) jumped bail and became a fugitive on Six Nations; he surrendered to American authorities in January 1994. The Case is not yet complete as the four are due to be sentenced in April 1994 in Rutland, Vermont. When the sentencing memorandum is published, it will reveal details concerning the movement of handguns by Mohawk warriors to Canadian criminals. The BATF began the investigation after Montreal police asked them to trace a handgun used in a drug-related murder attempt in late 1992. According to Jean Claude Charbonneau, A US Attorney in Rutland, Canadian police have seized approximately 60 handguns in drug related offences, armed robberies, and the like, which were sold in the US to Natives and re-sold to Canadian criminals from St. John’s to Victoria since 1970.
In the case of the four Mohawks, the numbers of smuggled firearms may actually be almost 1,000 weapons and Vermont legal authorities hinted that over 100 handguns and Cobray-type submachine guns have been seized by Canadian police in a number of cities. These were used for home invasions, armed robberies, drug-related violence and a variety of other offences by a full spectrum of Canadian criminals. Of course, this is not the sole pipeline for weapons into the country. Canada Customs in B.C. reported seizing 238 weapons between April and October of 1992 — but not all of these were brought across the border with the intention to sell them to the worst of the criminal classes.
Weapons traffic through Six Nations is only suspected, although some residents say their Reserve is a conduit for arms to organized crime. Reg Hill was said to be involved but denies this. He did say in an interview with a freelance journalist that he "knew people who were involved in [gun-running]." Other pipelines for firearms into the criminal community involve organized crime. The Jamaican Posses which control much of the cocaine industry in the Toronto area do not appear to be short of handguns and may bring them with cocaine shipments from the United States. Bikers and the Asian Triads probably have their own pipelines, but the most gaping holes in the Canada-US border are on the Reserves. The Warriors have the most impressive private arsenal in Canada and already deal with the main organized crime bodies.
[Page 1] [Page 2] [Page 3] [Page 4] [Page 5] [Page 6] [Page 7] [Page 8] [Page 9] [Page 10] [Page 11] [Page 12]
[Page 13]
John Thompson is President of the Mackenzie Institute which studies political instability and terrorism. He can be reached at: mackenzieinstitute@bellnet.ca
CLICK HERE FOR MORE ARTICLES