$8,000 fine, discharge on weapons-related counts

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This article was published 26/10/2020 (1662 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man in possession of two firearm-related items subject to Canada’s complicated regulatory scheme was sentenced to a large fine last week in a Winnipeg court.

Mark Toews pled guilty on Sept. 24 at Steinbach Provincial Court to one count of smuggling and one count of possessing a prohibited device.

Judge Kusham Sharma heard arguments at the Steinbach court appearance but withheld sentencing until Oct. 13. The possession of a solvent trap, considered a federal charge, resulted in an $8,000 fine, while Toews was conditionally discharged as a result of possessing an overcapacity magazine. The discharge includes community service, many hours of which Toews has already performed.

Toews had ordered a solvent trap online from China. The device was intercepted by the Canadian Border Services Agency. A solvent trap can be attached the end of a gun’s barrel to collect cleaning fluid as part of a cleaning process. But with a hole drilled in the right place a solvent trap can suppress the sound of shots.

The RCMP, which is in charge of enforcing gun law while also maintaining a regulatory role, has been flagging such items, and treat solvent traps as suppressors.

The CBSA allowed for the package to be delivered to Toews, and police arrested him and seized firearms in his possession. Toews collected firearms and had a restricted firearms license.

In addition to other items, police seized a magazine for a Ruger .22. The common item became illegal, Judge Sharma said, after the firearm manufacturer built a handgun that could be used with the magazine.

Sentencing in Canada is a highly individualized process, as opposed to a process that imposes certain fines for certain offences regardless of personal circumstances. Sharma considered having the situation published in The Carillon to be part of sufficient deterrence, leading to the discharge.