XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: sk.politics, man.politics, mtl.general   
   From: Puela@nyet.ca   
      
   And it's worth noting where 'about half' of them are coming from.   
      
   Time for some enhanced gun ownership legislation, Harper?   
   ________________________________________   
   Jordan Press, Postmedia News | December 30, 2014   
      
      
   Increasing number of firearms on Ottawa streets due to influx of illegal guns   
   from the U.S., police say   
      
   Handguns smuggled from the eastern seaboard of the United States, funnelled   
   through border crossings in eastern Ontario, have contributed to an increasing   
   number of firearms on Ottawa’s streets, police say.   
      
   Those firearms, some of which come from states such as Virginia and Florida,   
   have wound up more often in the hands of Ottawa gang members who have been   
   involved in shootings twice in the last three days.  Those incidents — one on   
   Boxing Day at Tanger Outlets mall in Kanata, another downtown at Bank and   
   Slater streets early Monday morning — helped the capital set a record for   
   annual shootings, 48 in 2014.   
      
   Tackling that growing problem has shown up in arrests, raids and seizures in   
   the past few months.   
      
   For instance, in mid-December Ottawa police laid 254 charges against 27 people,   
   seized seven firearms and more than 400 rounds of ammunition as part of a   
   six-month investigation into brazen gun violence in the capital.   
      
   For criminals, if they want to find a gun, they are more than available on the   
   street for the right price.   
      
   “There are more guns out there,” said Ottawa police Det. Chris O’Brien,   
   who   
   works on the force’s guns and gangs unit.   
   “The trend in the last 10 years is there has been an increase in the number   
   of   
   guns on the street.”   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   About half of all guns seized by Ottawa police are locally sourced, meaning   
   they have likely been stolen during robberies from local gun owners or dealers.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   In the past, weapons moved between Montreal and Ottawa, with some Montrealers   
   renting out guns to gang members in Ottawa.   
      
   The other half of seized weapons are “foreign-sourced,” meaning they are   
   smuggled across the border.   
      
   According to the most recent data from the Ontario Provincial Police,   
   foreign-sourced guns made up the majority of “crime guns” seized by   
   officers.   
   The 2011 numbers showed that 60 per cent of guns used in crimes were smuggled   
   across the U.S. border, 20 per cent were locally sourced, while the remaining   
   20 per cent couldn’t be traced.   
      
   Ottawa’s foreign-sourced guns usually arrive from American states such as   
   Florida, Virginia or Georgia, said O’Brien. They don’t usually come from   
   New   
   York State given that state’s stricter gun laws, he said.   
      
   Often, their point of entry is around Cornwall, including the Akwesasne Mohawk   
   Territory, O’Brien said.   
      
   The Canada Border Services Agency in the past year has increased its focus on   
   stopping firearms from illegally entering the country: The agency’s most   
   recent   
   annual performance report noted that the number of CBSA-led firearm   
   prosecutions more than doubled in the past fiscal year from the average of the   
   preceding three years.   
      
   It is often handguns that gang members use when they open fire, but they are   
   not cheap.  A handgun that sells in the U.S. for about $75 can sell on the   
   black market in Canada for $1,500 to $3,000 for a more expensive handgun such   
   as a nine millimetre, but the price also based on who is buying and who is   
   selling.   
      
   Handguns, however, have become required equipment for gang members to protect   
   their turf or expand their holdings.  Once one drug dealer or gang members   
   starts carrying a weapon, others do the same so they don’t cede power to   
   others, O’Brien said.   
      
   The weapons of choice in Ottawa are nine-millimetre and .40-calibre handguns,   
   the latter of which was used in the Boxing Day shooting at Tangers Outlets   
   between rival members of the Crips gang.   
   _____________________________________   
      
   Remembering that the 'Parliament Hill shooter' used a long gun - a Winchester   
   .30-30 calibre rifle  - which hunters use in Canada. . . .   
   _____________   
      
   Friedman adds that the fact Zehaf-Bibeau had no fixed address was in itself   
   enough to bar him from a firearms licence.   
      
   It all means that Zehaf-Bibeau must have obtained his rifle either by stealing   
   it, buying it on the black market, or been given the rifle, either by someone   
   unaware of his motives or an accomplice.   
      
   It may be that last possibility that explains why police are so focused on   
   tracking the weapon's history.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)