GUILTY or NOT?

GUILTY or NOT? / Glossary

Canadian legal glossary

Careless storage

Storing, transporting or handling a firearm without reasonable precautions for the safety of others — judged on the marked departure standard.

Cases that turn on it

The 4 real Canadian cases in the library whose brief uses this term. Read the facts, then decide — the verdict stays in the game.

• The Shot in the Ceiling 2025 LeClair v R — Attempted murder with a firearm (s. 239(1)), discharging a firearm with intent (s. 244(1)), pointing a firearm (s. 87(1)), unauthorized possession (s. 91(1)), careless storage (s. 86(2)), possession while prohibited (s. 117.01(1)) · New Brunswick Court of Appeal
• The Warning Shot 2026 R v Hegyi — Careless use of a firearm (s. 86(1)) and possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace (s. 88(1)) · Provincial Court of British Columbia
• The Bag That Never Left Him 2024 R v Aronson — Possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm (s. 95(1)), prohibited weapon (s. 91(2)), careless storage (s. 86(1)), possession while prohibited (s. 117.01(1)) · Supreme Court of British Columbia
• Six Counts, Five Guns 2024 R v Saunders — Careless storage of a firearm (s. 86) and multiple possession counts · Court of Appeal for Ontario

Related category: Firearms & Weapons

Possession, careless storage, pointing, discharging and trafficking — the Criminal Code firearm and weapons offences, and what the Crown has to prove about the gun itself. The newest Firearms & Weapons cases in the library:

• The Bag Under the Seat 2021 Currie v R — Possession of a firearm while prohibited (s. 117.01) and related firearm offences · Court of Appeal of New Brunswick
• Over the Waist-High Fence 2019 R v Le — Ten firearm, drug and related offences (Criminal Code; CDSA) · Supreme Court of Canada (Ontario)
• The Backpack in the Alley 2024 R v Sabiston — Firearm offences arising from possession of a loaded sawed-off shotgun · Supreme Court of Canada (Saskatchewan)
• The Trunk on the Highway 2025 R v Ramdeo — Possession of an imitation firearm for a purpose dangerous to the public peace (s. 88(1)) · Court of Appeal for Ontario
• The Backpack on the Ground 2026 R v McGuinness — Possession of a loaded prohibited firearm (s. 95(1)) · Provincial Court of British Columbia

All 32 Firearms & Weapons cases →

See also: Firearms vocabulary

• operability
• prohibited firearm
• restricted firearm
• non-restricted firearm
• imitation firearm
• prohibition order
• amnesty order
• forfeiture

← burden of proof · circumstantial evidence → · All 51 terms

A new real Canadian case every day. Read the brief, weigh the Crown against the defence, commit to a verdict, then see what the court decided — and why.

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