Single mom Kassidy Ballantyne-Holmes never got the firearms memo.
The 35-year-old Stratford woman was shot to death early on Oct. 15. Her family and friends are now trying to make sense of her senseless slaying.
Keith Savile, 41, has been charged with second-degree murder. In addition, he was charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of a firearm, weapons trafficking and … manufacturing.
Cops say the accused and victim were not in a relationship.
But don’t worry, the prime minister is on it.
On Monday, one of Justin Trudeau’s social media flunkies declared on X — with a straight face — that the Liberals were crushing it when it comes to firearms offences.
To wit, the PM claimed: “Two years ago today, we froze the handgun market and stopped handguns from being bought, sold or transferred anywhere in Canada. We choose your safety over the gun lobby — every time.”
Well, not exactly. You’re targeting Uncle Bill who hasn’t hit a deer in 30 years, not the small army of triggermen — and women — who are keeping cops, emergency rooms and funeral parlours bustling with business.
This is the same government that has spent more than $67 million on the self-congratulatory firearm buyback program — and hasn’t collected a single gun. “Consultants” working in offices next to the laundry room in their Ottawa-area homes, have, of course, gotten rich.
This is not what a falling crime rate looks like. Not a single statistic remotely hints at this.
Don’t believe me? The Toronto Police Association was quick to respond to Trudeau’s bizarre claims.
“Criminals did not get your message. Our communities are experiencing a 45% increase in shootings and a 62% increase in gun-related homicides compared to this time last year,” the TPS wrote in a post on X.
“What difference does your handgun ban make when 85% of guns seized by our members can be sourced to the United States? Your statement is out of touch and offensive to victims of crime and police officers everywhere. Whatever you think you’ve done to improve community safety, has not worked.”
As for putting “Canadians’ safety ahead of the gun lobby,” we know this is also not true.
On Monday, cops in Hamilton announced a slew of arrests in connection with the tidal wave of shootings in Steeltown. So far, the HPS Shooting Response Team (SRT) has arrested 30 individuals and laid 196 charges in non-fatal shootings in the Hammer.
In 2024, there have been a record-shattering 54 shootings in the city. Only the inevitable piss-poor aim of gangbangers is keeping the undertaker at bay.
When detectives arrest these guys, they are almost always given easy bail even though they’re often ALREADY on bail. And then they allegedly commit more crimes.
Like, say, Tibor Orgona, 21.
Orgona is accused of attempted murder (and other stuff) by way of pumping a bullet into the stomach of a Toronto plainclothes detective on Oct. 2. He was, ahem, out on bail at the time.
“He’s a complete a**hole, a real f***head,” one veteran homicide detective told the Toronto Sun. “Tibor has 21 failures to comply and a bunch of bail infractions. Name it, he’s into it.”
Not to worry, the Liberals have drawn a line in the sand: They are choosing our safety.
For Kassidy Ballantyne-Holmes, the friends and family who loved her, along with a heartbreaking roster of other victims of gun crime, Trudeau’s gun violence virtue signalling surely rings hollow.
We are sadly accustomed to it.
@HunterTOSun