THE SCOURGE OF GANG VIOLENCE

The gunfire that rang out Thursday night in Fort Qu'Appelle, taking
the lives of two men and wounding three others, was a brutal reminder
of the sad presence of violence in our world -- even in quiet towns.

At the time of writing, nobody had been charged in this case, thought
there are rumours galore that it was gang-related.

If so -- and this is by no means certain -- it is shocking, but not surprising.

Since the early years of this decade, police have been warning that
gangs in Saskatchewan -- and everywhere else in Canada -- were moving
into smaller communities. Eastern Canada's wake-up call came in April
2006, when eight members of an outlaw motorcycle gang were killed by
gunmen near London, Ont. Alberta and Manitoba have long been
concerned about gangs in rural communities.

Criminal gangs dealing in horses, and then whiskey, operated in rural
Saskatchewan a century ago for the simple reason that they offered
young -- and not-so-young -- men criminal communities into which they
could fit and make money -- sometimes big money.

The most recent report by the national criminal intelligence agency
said gangs now operating in Saskatchewan include four street gangs,
an outlaw motorcycle gang and several smaller ones, with groups in
towns and villages all over the province. Drugs -- getting them and
selling them -- were their main economic engine.

Whatever occurred in Fort Qu'Appelle, police fear that gang members,
in the course of fighting other gangs, will kill or injure members of
the public -- something that should worry everybody. Police also note
with concern gangs' increasing use of guns and estimate that no other
province has such a high proportion of its youth involved with gangs.

Getting rid of gangs, wherever they operate, will not be easy and
certainly will not be quick.

There is no guarantee that violence will not touch other small communities.