Crime
Canada’s justice system struggling to fight crime amid highest murder rate in 30 years: report
From LifeSiteNews
Canada’s murder rate has increased every year from 2018 to 2022, including by 8% from 2021 to 2022, and the police-reported rate for sexual assault is at its highest level since 1995, research indicates.
A well-known Ottawa think tank warned in a recent report on crime that Canada’s justice system is unable to keep up with out-of-control crime that has risen sharply in the last few decades to the point where the national murder rate at its highest in 30 years.
According to the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s “Report on the Criminal Justice System” released last month, Canada’s violent crime severity is at its highest level since 2007.
“Canada’s criminal justice system is clearly performing worse than it was six years ago,” the report concluded. “There remains a need for ongoing independent monitoring and performance measurement of the criminal justice system in Canada.”
In 2021, the violent crime rate increased by 6%. In 2022, the rate went up another 5%.
According to researchers, Canada’s murder rate has increased “every year” from 2018 to 2022, “including by 8% from 2021 to 2022.”
“The current homicide rate is the highest it has been in 30 years, and the police-reported rate for sexual assault is at its highest level since 1995,” researchers described.
The Institute’s report card on crime in Canada goes through each province and territory, noting that every level of government “bears a portion of the costs of criminality and each level of government therefore has an interest in its suppression.”
Since 2017, when the last report card was released, some provinces have done better and others have gotten worse. For example, Alberta’s overall positive ranking has gone up (less crime) and Ontario’s has gone down (more crime). The provinces with the most violent crime in terms of rates per population were Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The report found that violent crime in the last five years went up overall, with the “proportion of “Canadians who express confidence in the fairness of the criminal justice system is troublingly low.”
“In 2022, only 62% of Canadians expressed confidence in the police, with only 46% expressing confidence in the justice system more broadly,” the report states.
The report also noted that confidence in “police and the justice system are worryingly low.”
“And no wonder: The combination of plunging clearance rates and an increasing number of cases stayed or gives the perception of a justice system that has given up on its core responsibilities,” according to the report, which also noted that one of the biggest issues “with fairness in Canada’s criminal justice system is the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in incarceration.”
“Since 1995, the Criminal Code of Canada has required courts to consider all available sanctions other than imprisonment, especially when it comes to Indigenous offenders.”
It should be noted that Canada’s Supreme Court said in 2012 that lower courts must “must take judicial notice” of the history of “colonialism, displacement, and residential schools” when sentencing Indigenous people.
However, the reality is that Indigenous people jailed for committing crimes is extremely high proportionally in western Canada and Ontario.
When it comes to the overall justice system in Canada, it scored low in terms of efficiency.
“The percentage of cases stayed or withdrawn increased in every single province and territory since 2017, as has the median criminal case length,” the report noted.
Also, crimes have been solved at a lower rate in 2023 compared with previous years, as more cases were stayed or withdrawn.
“Our criminal justice system has unquestionably become less efficient over the last five years despite the introduction of measures designed to enhance the expedient dispensation of justice,” the report states.
“For the most part, the story is not a positive one. On all five of the broad criminal justice objectives, the system is not performing as most would hope, and the situation appears to be deteriorating,” the report concluded.
Crime on the rise in Canada under Trudeau
In 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government passed Bill C-75, which in effect created a “catch and release bail system,” according to pundits and the opposition Conservative Party.
As a result, Canada has seen in recent years a sharp increase in auto thefts from organized crime groups, who have taken advantage of weak sentencing for those caught committing theft.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre recently blasted Trudeau for the rise in auto theft, blaming his soft stance on criminals.
“After eight years of Justin Trudeau, car thefts are up 300% in Toronto and 100% in Ottawa and Montreal. Nationally, car thefts are up by more than a third since his Liberal government took office,” Poilievre said.
Last week, Poilievre promised that a Conservative government would “go after the real criminals by restoring jail not bail for repeat violent offenders and career car thieves.”
“It’s not the courts that have turned loose criminals and allowed this crime wave, it’s Justin Trudeau. It was not the courts that passed C-75, the catch and release bail system, it was Justin Trudeau. It was not the courts that brought in house arrest for repeat car thieves in C-5, it was Justin Trudeau,” Poilievre said.
Last week, LifeSiteNews reported that Statistics Canada data shows most violent gun crimes in the country last year were not committed at the hands of legal gun owners but by those who obtained the weapons illegally. This comes despite the federal government cracking down on legal gun owners.
Crime against Christian churches has risen sharply in the past two years, with approximately 100 churches to date having been set on fire or vandalized, with almost no arrests made. That fact has prompted Poilievre to call out Trudeau for being silent on the church burnings.
Crime
RCMP Bust B.C. Fentanyl Superlab Linked to Mexico and Transnational Exports
Sam Cooper
In a remote mountainous area of British Columbia, federal police have dismantled the largest fentanyl laboratory ever discovered in Canada. This western province has become a critical front in the Five Eyes battle against the production and distribution of deadly synthetic narcotics trafficked globally by networks involving Chinese and Iranian state-sponsored mafias and Mexican cartels.
In a groundbreaking discovery, the RCMP located the superlab in Falkland—a village of 946 residents nestled in the rugged terrain between Calgary and Vancouver—using Phenyl-2-Propanone (P2P) to manufacture methamphetamine. This production method, primarily employed by Mexican cartels, stems from the precursors and scientific expertise Mexican cartels have gathered from elite Chinese criminals since the early 2000s, according to U.S. enforcement sources.
David Teboul, Commander of the RCMP Federal Policing program in the Pacific Region, underscored the significance: “Manufacturing methamphetamine using P2P had not been seen in Western Canada until now,” he said. “The P2P manufacturing method has been the primary method used by Mexican cartels to produce methamphetamine for years.”
Demonstrating the destructive power of the cartels involved, the RCMP seized a staggering cache of illicit substances and weapons. Officers confiscated 54 kilograms of fentanyl, massive amounts of precursor chemicals, 390 kilograms of methamphetamine, 35 kilograms of cocaine, 15 kilograms of MDMA, and 6 kilograms of cannabis. The superlab was described as the largest and most sophisticated of its kind, capable of producing multiple types of illicit drugs.
“To put things into context,” Teboul said, “the over 95 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl that have been seized could have taken the lives of every Canadian at least twice over.”
A large portion of the product was destined for other countries.
During the investigation, RCMP officers learned of several large shipments of methamphetamine prepared for international export. They intercepted 310 kilograms of methamphetamine before it could leave Canada, preventing a significant quantity from reaching global markets—a critical point as Canada faces pressure from its allies over its role in the global fentanyl and methamphetamine trade.
Teboul noted that the RCMP collaborated with its Five Eyes enforcement partners—an intelligence alliance comprising Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Although Teboul did not provide specific details, this cooperation underscores the international scope of the transnational investigation.
The first suspect, Gaganpreet Singh Randhawa, was identified and arrested during raids. He is currently in custody and faces multiple charges, including possession and export of controlled substances, possession of prohibited firearms and devices, and possession of explosive devices. More arrests are expected, Teboul said.
The scale of this criminal network echoes the power and violence fueling gang wars that have rocked British Columbia, putting innocent lives at risk during high-powered shootouts in Vancouver. Investigators seized a total of 89 firearms, including 45 handguns, 21 AR-15-style rifles, and submachine guns—many of which were loaded and ready for use. The searches also uncovered small explosive devices, vast amounts of ammunition, firearm silencers, high-capacity magazines, body armor, and $500,000 in cash.
British Columbia has been grappling with an influx of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, significantly exacerbating the opioid crisis across Canada. The province has witnessed a surge in overdose deaths, prompting law enforcement to intensify efforts against drug production and trafficking networks. Experts highlight weaknesses in Canadian laws and a lack of federal oversight at the Port of Vancouver, which have been exploited by transnational crime and money laundering organizations from China, Iran, and Mexico.
This significant bust comes at a time when Canada is under increased scrutiny from international allies over its role as a hub for the export of fentanyl and methamphetamine. The superlab takedown appears to align with serious concerns raised by lawmakers in Washington about how Canada and Mexico are being used by transnational crime organizations to distribute fentanyl worldwide.
A recent U.S. congressional report argues that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strategy relies less on overt military actions and more on covert tactics, including trafficking of fentanyl and leveraging money laundering, aimed at exploiting vulnerabilities across social, economic, and health domains.
“Fentanyl precursors are manufactured in China and shipped to Mexico and Canada. For precursors that arrive in Mexico, Chinese transnational mafias work with Mexican cartels to smuggle and distribute fentanyl in the United States on behalf of the CCP,” the report states. “The DEA confirmed Chinese transnational crime leaders hold government positions in the CCP and indicated that Chinese transnational crime organizations are dedicated to the CCP.”
“The public deserves to know about the CCP’s role in fentanyl production and how the Party is using fentanyl as a chemical weapon to kill Americans,” the report adds. It recommends that Washington publicly “blame the CCP as much as the DEA and its partners currently blame the Sinaloa Cartel” for fentanyl trafficking and urges the government to “educate international allies about CCP chemical warfare” and encourage them to condemn Chinese transnational crime.
According to congressional investigations, Beijing is actively incentivizing the export of fentanyl and methamphetamine worldwide. The report alleges that Chinese criminal organizations, including Triads led by individuals with official positions in the CCP, are working alongside Mexican cartels to generate profit to fund interference operations in America.
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Alberta
Multi-million dollar drug seizure in southwest Edmonton
News release from ALERT (The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team)
Nearly $2.5 million in drugs and cash was seized from a southwest Edmonton condo building. A warrant has been issued for an Edmonton man.
ALERT Edmonton’s organized crime team made the seizure on October 9, 2024 after searching an address in the Windermere neighbourhood. The Edmonton Police Service helped with the search warrant execution.
ALERT seized an estimated $2.3 million worth of drugs, which included:
- 17.7 kilograms of cocaine;
- 5.3 kilograms of MDMA;
- 950 grams of methamphetamine;
- 3.1 kilograms of ketamine;
- 5 kilograms of psilocybin mushrooms;
- 20,000 oxycodone pills;
- 4,705 illicit prescription pills;
- $41,000 cash.
ALERT searched the address following an investigation that dates back to June 2024. Investigators developed information about a high-level drug trafficker operating in the Edmonton area with a number of supply lines.
The drug seizure marks ALERT’s largest since a record bust earlier in the year. In August, 27 kilograms of cocaine were seized from a west Edmonton home. The two investigations are unrelated.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Minh Nguyen. The 36-year-old Edmonton man is wanted on charges of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, possession of proceeds of crime, and possession of counterfeit money.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact police.
The investigation began in June 2024 after ALERT received information about a drug supplier based in the Edmonton area. ALERT alleges Nguyen was supplying other drug dealers in Edmonton and northern Alberta communities.
Members of the public who suspect drug or gang activity in their community can call local police, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers is always anonymous.
ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.
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