Stephen Harper cites a London shooting case in touting Ottawa’s ‘reverse onus’ legislation.
Date: Nov 24, 2006 10:55 AM
PUBLICATION: The London Free Press
DATE: 2006.11.24
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A1
ILLUSTRATION: 1. photo of AHMED MOALIN-MOHAMED Accused in London
shootings and nowhere to be found. 2. photo by CP NON-PARTISAN MOMENT:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty listen
as Toronto Mayor David Miller speaks at a news conference in Toronto.
BYLINE: FREE PRESS STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
WORD COUNT: 491

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PM points to local fugitive
Stephen Harper cites a London shooting case in touting Ottawa’s ‘reverse
onus’ legislation.

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He skipped bail after being charged in a multiple Thanksgiving shooting
in London that injured four people and hasn’t been seen or heard since.

But yesterday, fugitive Ahmed Moalin-Mohamed was thrust under the
spotlight, his case cited by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as an example
of the need to get tough on people accused of gun crimes.

Moalin-Mohamed, 23, was released on bail by a justice of the peace and
ordered to stay with his mother in Toronto until his case could be
heard.

Instead, Harper noted, the defendant “simply vanished.”

“That means somewhere in Canada — maybe in London, maybe in this city
– a man facing multiple violent firearms charges is freely roaming the
streets and it’s hardly an isolated case,” Harper said in Toronto.

Appearing in a rare non-partisan moment with Ontario Liberal Premier
Dalton McGuinty and David Miller, Toronto’s left-leaning mayor, Harper
was setting his sights on Ontario voters as he showcased Ottawa’s
get-tough vow to crack down on gun crime.

If there was any doubt Harper is laying the groundwork for a coming
election after he tabled a motion Wednesday to recognize Quebec as a
nation within Canada, it vanished when he took the stage with the other
two political leaders who represent millions of Ontario voters — voters
the minority Conservative government is keen to win over before they
return to the federal polls.

Harper plugged the government’s new “reverse onus” legislation,
introduced in the House of Commons yesterday, which would require people
accused of dangerous gun crimes — like Moalin-Mohamed — to demonstrate
to a court why they should be freed on bail until their trial.

As the law now stands, those accused of attempted murder, armed robbery,
sexual assault with a weapon, kidnapping or extortion are granted bail,
unless a prosecutor can persuade a court to detain them.

Harper recounted the case of Moalin-Mohamed, who made bail after the
Oct. 8 shootings in a parking lot along Richmond and Carling streets,
but then failed to show up for his next court appearance.

A bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

Moalin-Mohamed faces 13 charges, including attempted murder and three
counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. He was released
despite concerns by the Crown. His release also drew criticism from
London police Chief Murray Faulkner.

“Rejecting the Crown’s argument that the man was a threat to public
safety, the (justice of the peace), acting under the current law,
ordered him to stay home with his mother,” Harper said.

Harper, referring to the three leaders at yesterday’s news conference,
said, “We pretty much cover the political spectrum, but today we are
partisans for the same cause.”

He also brought up the Boxing Day shooting of 15-year-old Jane Creba,
who was caught in the crossfire during a shootout on Yonge Street.

The case became a central focus of last year’s federal election campaign
and was viewed by many as a boon to the election hopes of the
law-and-order Tories.

“Ever since the Yonge Street shootout that killed 15-year-old Jane Creba
last Boxing Day, the premier and the mayor have been pressing Ottawa for
these reforms,” Harper said.

McGuinty was effusive in his praise for the legislation and for the
leadership he said Harper has shown on the gun-crime file. “This
initiative, together with other initiatives already brought forward by
Prime Minister Harper’s government, are important to the people of
Ontario.”

The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !