The number of offences involving firearms in Newfoundland and Labrador the past couple of years is about double that on the crime sheets three years ago and nearly ten times that of thirty years ago.

Back in 1998, only nine such crimes found their way to the courts, but in 2025 that number ballooned to 80 – and 72 in 2024. In 2023, there were only 41 such incidents according to Statistics Canada.

That means the rate of gun crimes in the province at one time was 1.67 per 100,000 people – last year it was 14.55 such crimes per 100,000 people.

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw is calling for changes in the justice system so that people who have guns are not released by the system to take to the streets and commit further crimes.

The VOCM Question of the Day on Saturday asked if the bail system should be tightened up. Ninety-seven per cent who answered said yes.