Convicted criminal Stefan Holowaychuk walks free in Saskatchewan because the British Columbia RCMP won't request the Saskatchewan RCMP to carry out the BC arrest warrant..On Canada Day, the Regina Police Service (RPS) went to the Days Inn about Holowaychuk, who acted strangely prompting an employee to search his name on the internet..The employee found his outstanding warrant and that Holowaychuk was the “Wanted Wednesday” person in April 2022. .READ MORE Regina police let man wanted for violent attack go free because it was only a BC warrant.But the RPS let Holowaychuk go because it was a BC warrant..However, Mandy Maier, Sask RCMP media relations officer, told the Western Standard that it could pick up Holowaychuk for the BC RCMP..“Generally, police can arrest or detain an individual on a warrant from another province, but would not action the warrant unless prosecutions from that jurisdiction extends it. If they do not extend the warrant, the individual would be released,” said Maier..The RPS could have held Holowaychuk and called the Sask RCMP to come get him..In an email conversation with Brody Hemrich, Prince Rupert RCMP media relations officer, he explained the BC RCMP’s position regarding wanted individuals outside of BC..“Any comment as to why they didn’t pick him up?” asked the Western Standard..“The Regina Police Service is correct, although they are able to arrest someone with an outstanding warrant because it is reasonable to believe that person has committed an indictable offence, they have no power to hold that person and execute the warrant because the originating agency, in this case, the BC prosecuting service and the BC RCMP, will not extend the warrant to Saskatchewan. I understand the frustration this may cause for some, but this is the system we have to operate within,” said Hemrich..However, this contradicts a 1985 court ruling, Her Majesty the Queen v. William Gary Cardinal (1985 ABCA 157), Albertan Justice Kerans ruled going to a different province than where the warrant was issued does not mean an alleged criminal cannot be arrested. .Justice Kerans ruling said that “all warrants can be ‘Canada-wide’” and the Canadian Criminal Code (CCC) “does not sanction labelled warrants. It merely provides, in section 456.3 CCC, that a warrant may be executed in the geographical jurisdiction of the signing judge. Section 461 CCC provides that judges elsewhere may validate warrants for other jurisdictions.”.“What about the SK RCMP? There was a court case in 1985 that all warrants are Canada-wide,” asked the Western Standard..“I understand what you are getting at, however, anything to do with the Criminal Code, Case Law or for that matter anything to do with the courts every word is significant. In this case the “can” in “all warrants CAN be ‘Canada-wide’” is very significant,” said Hemrich. .“Just because a warrant can be Canada-wide does not mean it is in fact a Canada-wide warrant. In BC we interact with many people that have warrants out of Alberta or I have personally had couple of out Manitoba, endorsed and unendorsed. Those jurisdictions have not extended the warrants to our jurisdiction because the charge involved would not warrant the cost to transport the person back to the original jurisdiction.”.The BC RCMP does not want to spend the money to transport Holowaychuk back to BC even though he is a repeat offender and wanted on a charge of assault with a weapon. .The BC RCMP “can” transport him back, but choose not to. .Assault with a weapon is not a sufficient crime to warrant the arrest and transportation of Holowaychuk back to BC to stand trial for the alleged criminal act..Holowaychuk’s criminal career started back in 2011.
Convicted criminal Stefan Holowaychuk walks free in Saskatchewan because the British Columbia RCMP won't request the Saskatchewan RCMP to carry out the BC arrest warrant..On Canada Day, the Regina Police Service (RPS) went to the Days Inn about Holowaychuk, who acted strangely prompting an employee to search his name on the internet..The employee found his outstanding warrant and that Holowaychuk was the “Wanted Wednesday” person in April 2022. .READ MORE Regina police let man wanted for violent attack go free because it was only a BC warrant.But the RPS let Holowaychuk go because it was a BC warrant..However, Mandy Maier, Sask RCMP media relations officer, told the Western Standard that it could pick up Holowaychuk for the BC RCMP..“Generally, police can arrest or detain an individual on a warrant from another province, but would not action the warrant unless prosecutions from that jurisdiction extends it. If they do not extend the warrant, the individual would be released,” said Maier..The RPS could have held Holowaychuk and called the Sask RCMP to come get him..In an email conversation with Brody Hemrich, Prince Rupert RCMP media relations officer, he explained the BC RCMP’s position regarding wanted individuals outside of BC..“Any comment as to why they didn’t pick him up?” asked the Western Standard..“The Regina Police Service is correct, although they are able to arrest someone with an outstanding warrant because it is reasonable to believe that person has committed an indictable offence, they have no power to hold that person and execute the warrant because the originating agency, in this case, the BC prosecuting service and the BC RCMP, will not extend the warrant to Saskatchewan. I understand the frustration this may cause for some, but this is the system we have to operate within,” said Hemrich..However, this contradicts a 1985 court ruling, Her Majesty the Queen v. William Gary Cardinal (1985 ABCA 157), Albertan Justice Kerans ruled going to a different province than where the warrant was issued does not mean an alleged criminal cannot be arrested. .Justice Kerans ruling said that “all warrants can be ‘Canada-wide’” and the Canadian Criminal Code (CCC) “does not sanction labelled warrants. It merely provides, in section 456.3 CCC, that a warrant may be executed in the geographical jurisdiction of the signing judge. Section 461 CCC provides that judges elsewhere may validate warrants for other jurisdictions.”.“What about the SK RCMP? There was a court case in 1985 that all warrants are Canada-wide,” asked the Western Standard..“I understand what you are getting at, however, anything to do with the Criminal Code, Case Law or for that matter anything to do with the courts every word is significant. In this case the “can” in “all warrants CAN be ‘Canada-wide’” is very significant,” said Hemrich. .“Just because a warrant can be Canada-wide does not mean it is in fact a Canada-wide warrant. In BC we interact with many people that have warrants out of Alberta or I have personally had couple of out Manitoba, endorsed and unendorsed. Those jurisdictions have not extended the warrants to our jurisdiction because the charge involved would not warrant the cost to transport the person back to the original jurisdiction.”.The BC RCMP does not want to spend the money to transport Holowaychuk back to BC even though he is a repeat offender and wanted on a charge of assault with a weapon. .The BC RCMP “can” transport him back, but choose not to. .Assault with a weapon is not a sufficient crime to warrant the arrest and transportation of Holowaychuk back to BC to stand trial for the alleged criminal act..Holowaychuk’s criminal career started back in 2011.
