OTTAWA: A U.S. citizen on his way to Alaska through Alberta was fined thousands of dollars after he was caught trying to bring a prohibited weapon into Canada.
When Byron Lamart Hunter of Colorado entered Alberta at the Coutts border crossing last August, he lied to officers when they asked him if he had any firearms or other weapons. Although he declared two bows and some ammunition, he didn’t tell them about a pistol he was carrying in his pickup truck.
Suspicious border officials referred Hunter for a secondary inspection, during which they found a loaded .45-calibre handgun in the centre console of Hunter’s vehicle. The handgun also fires .410 shotshells.
Hunter, 30, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Lethbridge provincial court to one count of contravening the Customs Act. He was fined $6,000 which, court was told, is on top of the $1,000 fine he was levied at the border.
Crown prosecutor Matthew MacPherson told court Hunter does not have a criminal record and he eventually co-operated with officials and entered a relatively early guilty plea, but he added the circumstances of the offence are particularly aggravating because Hunter lied to border officials and the gun was loaded.
In addition to the fine, Hunter is also prohibited from possessing weapons for 10 years. He was granted an exception to the prohibition, however, which will allow him to hunt animals to support his taxidermy business.
Defence lawyer James Rouleau explained his client, who is retired from the armed services, would not be able to work in his profession without a gun.
Although the judge ordered the weapons prohibition and granted the exception, he pointed out the prohibition is likely not binding in the U.S.
