The Revolver and the Question

Police on patrol near Toronto schools stopped a young man on the sidewalk and began questioning him. Asked whether he had anything on him that he should not have, he told the officers he was carrying a firearm and produced a loaded revolver. He was charged with five firearm offences. One of them was possessing the firearm for the purpose of transferring it - a trafficking-style count carrying its own elements. The Crown's theory was that a young man with no licence, carrying a loaded handgun on the street, must have had it in order to move it on to someone else; the Crown also argued that the offence requires no more than an intention to move the firearm from place to place without lawful authority. The Defence said the Crown had proved possession and nothing else: there was no evidence of a buyer, a seller, a price, or any arrangement to hand the gun to anyone.