Nobody Saw the Gun

Intruders broke into a dwelling house. During the break-in they told the occupants that they had a gun. No occupant ever saw a firearm - it was never displayed, never pointed, and never fired. Minutes after the intruders fled, police found a loaded pistol in the getaway vehicle. The trial judge inferred from that evidence that the gun had been present during the break-in. The Accused was charged not only with the break-in but with the separate offence of using a firearm while committing an indictable offence. The Crown argued that telling terrified householders you are armed is precisely the use of a firearm the section is aimed at. The Defence argued that 'uses a firearm' has an ordinary meaning - firing it, or at least brandishing it - and that words alone cannot convert an unseen gun in a car into the use of a firearm.