Former member of Parliament Inky Mark faces an escalation in charges, with police revealing that a staggering 445 firearms and 26.5 kilograms of explosives were confiscated from his residence in Manitoba. The 78-year-old was taken into custody again on August 12 following further investigations by the RCMP.
Initially apprehended during a search of his home near Dauphin in western Manitoba on July 7, Mark was initially charged with 12 weapons-related offenses. These charges included firearms trafficking, possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, unsafe firearms storage, careless firearm use, and possession of prohibited devices.
After evaluating the evidence seized in July, law enforcement disclosed that a total of 445 firearms were removed from Mark’s property. Among them, 295 were deemed inadequately stored, 10 were prohibited, and 11 were restricted or prohibited firearms not registered under Mark’s name.
The RCMP also disclosed the confiscation of 26.5 kilograms of explosives, surpassing the legal possession limit by licensed individuals. Additionally, several restricted or prohibited firearms were discovered with easily accessible ammunition, and two firearms registered to Mark were unaccounted for, as per the RCMP statement.
With a total of 38 charges filed against him, Mark now faces 26 new charges, including weapons trafficking, possession of prohibited weapons, possession of restricted firearms or prohibited weapons with ammunition, and unauthorized firearm possession. Furthermore, he is accused of possessing a firearm with a tampered serial number, failing to report firearm loss, and exceeding the legal limit of explosives possession.
The seized explosives primarily consisted of Tannerite, an explosive target used for firearms practice, which is illegal to possess in quantities exceeding six kilograms. Mark, in a statement to CBC News after his initial arrest, admitted to unlawfully transferring three guns but denied any involvement in firearms trafficking.
Mark claimed to have legally collected firearms since the early 1970s but acknowledged that some of his firearms had become illegal due to changes in gun laws over time. During the initial search, RCMP also confiscated over $300,000 in cash from Mark, which he asserted stemmed from property sales and not from firearms-related activities.
Furthermore, the RCMP alleged that between December 2024 and February 2025, Mark unilaterally provided a firearm and ammunition to an unlicensed individual at their residence, leading to a weapons trafficking charge in connection with the incident. The recipient did not use the weapon, and it was later retrieved by investigators, with no charges laid against them.
Mark, a former MP representing the Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa riding, served in Parliament from 1997 until his resignation in 2010. Initially affiliated with the Reform party, he later transitioned to the Canadian Alliance and finally to the Conservative party. In 2015, he ran unsuccessfully for re-election as an independent candidate, following his tenure as mayor of Dauphin in 1994.