Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.Canada’s licensed firearm owners are expected to treat every firearm as a serious responsibility.Make a mistake, and the consequences include criminal charges, seizure of firearms, and the loss of a firearms licence.So why are police officers not held to the same standard?A firearm left unattended — especially a loaded handgun in a public place — can be stolen, mishandled, or used before its owner realizes it is missing.That’s why a recent Peel Regional Police disciplinary agreement deserves greater scrutiny.According to a published Settlement Agreement, Constable Zahra Yusufzay was working in plain clothes on December 16, 2024, when she entered a clothing store at Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre during her lunch break.She entered a change room to try on clothing and removed her police-issued duty belt, which included her loaded service pistol, handcuffs, and an additional full magazine.After receiving a telephone request to assist with translation, Yusufzay left the store and went to her vehicle — leaving the equipment behind in the change room.A store employee discovered it and notified mall security.Peel Police officers attended and secured Yusufzay’s forgotten equipment.Yusufzay later realized what had happened, contacted the store and security, and returned. The Settlement Agreement describes her as “very apologetic.”The firearm was recovered, nobody was injured, and there is no indication that anyone attempted to misuse it..But good fortune is not the same as safe firearms handling.A Loaded Handgun in a Public Change RoomThis was a loaded police-issued handgun accompanied by another loaded magazine, left unattended in a change room inside one of Canada’s busiest shopping centres.Cst. Yusufzay accepted responsibility through a settlement in the police disciplinary process. The penalty was the forfeiture of 15 days’ pay for conduct that undermined, or was likely to undermine, public trust in policing.It also says that, on March 11, 2025, Cst. Yusufzay was arrested by a member of PRP’s Internal Affairs for unsafe storage of a firearm, contrary to section 86(2) of the Criminal Code. She was released on a Form 10.The agreement is unclear about the disposition of the unsafe storage charge against Cst. Yusufzay.If that criminal charge was withdrawn, stayed, or otherwise resolved, the public deserves to understand why.The Credibility GapLicensed firearm owners have spent decades hearing that strict controls are necessary because even a small possibility of unauthorized access to firearms is unacceptable.They have been subjected to expanding classifications, transportation requirements, storage rules, licence screening, and the prohibition of property that was legally acquired.Against that background, this case creates a clear and unavoidable contrast.Government demands extraordinary caution from licensed civilians, yet asks the public to accept an internal disciplinary penalty when an armed state employee fails one of the most basic firearms safety obligations: maintaining control of a loaded gun.A Fair and Transparent StandardFirearm safety cannot be a slogan applied most forcefully to whichever group is politically convenient.Police services across Canada must have explicit, publicly understandable policies governing the loss or the abandonment of agency-issued firearms.Those policies should recognize differences between an unavoidable operational event and preventable negligence in a public place.If governments expect licensed Canadians to accept intrusive rules in the name of public safety, they must demonstrate that armed public officials are held to standards at least as credible.Fifteen days’ pay may satisfy the disciplinary agreement.Whether it satisfies the public interest is another question entirely.Tony Bernardo is the Executive Director of the Canadian Shooting Sports Association.
