Seize cars carrying illegal guns, MLA urges province

A Calgary MLA who was left quadriplegic after a 1991 drive-by shooting says he wants police to seize vehicles in which suspicious guns are found.

Kent Hehr, the Liberal MLA for Calgary-Buffalo, believes that police can crack down on gangs and drive-by shootings if they have the power to seize vehicles if firearms are found inside that aren't registered to the driver or passengers.

"If you have four gangbangers driving around in a vehicle with an unregistered gun or even a registered gun not registered to them, they can't all say I don't know how it got here," Hehr said Thursday.

"You know what? That person has an obligation to know what's in his vehicle, and otherwise that vehicle's going to be transported downtown and it's going to be sold."

Alberta already has legislation allowing police to impound vehicles used to solicit prostitutes; Hehr said the same principle should apply to illegal firearms.

"Responsible gun owners are going to be able to live by this and abide by this," he said.

Hehr said he hopes to introduce a private member's bill on the issue, for which he's already getting positive feedback.

Solicitor General Fred Lindsay promised to look into Hehr's suggestion. "You have to have some pretty good reason to seize a person's vehicle, so I'd have to look at it," Lindsay said, "but it's certainly an idea worth merit."

'That person has an obligation to know what's in his vehicle, and otherwise that vehicle's going to be transported downtown and it's going to be sold.' —Kent Hehr, Liberal MLA

Hehr's suggestion comes days after two suspected gang members were arrested for a shooting that seriously wounded a toddler on the Samson Cree First Nation in Hobbema.

Cpl. Daryl Bruno from the Hobbema RCMP said he thought the proposal was sound, given all the gang problems on the reserve.

"It would be beneficial," he told CBC News. "If you're eliminating that transportation, that would definitely assist the policing needs."

In October 1991, Hehr was a student planning to become a physical education teacher when he was shot while riding in a friend's car, when a stranger in another car fired at them.

Hehr became a lawyer and was elected to the Alberta legislature in the March 3 provincial vote.