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Canada is grappling with an escalating crime wave, and the latest case out of Welland, Ontario, is every parent’s worst fear.

Daniel Senecal, a 25-year-old who apparently identifies as she/her, faces charges of aggravated sexual assault, choking, break and enter, and sexual interference after police accused him of attacking a child under five in their own home.

Thanks to surveillance footage, Niagara police arrested the suspect swiftly, but the child’s serious injuries highlight the escalating violence plaguing communities across the country. And this isn’t an isolated incident – last week in Vaughan, a father was killed in front of his three young children during a home invasion. In Lindsay, Jeremy McDonald was charged after defending his home against an armed intruder. Scarborough saw a shooting leave two critically injured, while in Hamilton, 80 shots were fired in a downtown attack, injuring three.

These incidents paint a grim picture of a nation spiralling into lawlessness. Yet, Attorney General and Justice Minister Sean Fraser brushes off Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s warnings about this crime surge, insisting, “This isn’t the Wild West, it’s Canada.”

This isn’t the Wild West. It’s Canada.

Canadians deserve real solutions that make us safer, not slogans that inspire fear and chaos for Pierre’s political survival.

— Sean Fraser (@SeanFraserMP) August 29, 2025

For many Canadians, it’s starting to feel like the Wild West, where outlaws run rampant as decisive action is lacking.

The Welland case is a display of a troubling pattern: if the suspect is indeed the ‘Dani Senecal’ whose social media flaunts trans and pride flags, it points to an alarming saga of confusion and instability in some of these high-profile crimes against children.

Proliferation of crime deserves honest scrutiny, not political sidestepping.

Meanwhile, the Liberal government’s policies, like Bill C-75’s catch-and-release measures and Bill C-5’s scrapping of mandatory minimums, seem only to embolden criminals, leaving families (and children) vulnerable to these kinds of attacks.

The proof is in the pudding: Senecal had previously been charged with sexually assaulting a minor and was released this past March, after spending roughly a year in prison.

According to the child’s mother, Senecal attacked her young son in 2021, and it “largely mirrored the allegations in the weekend attack, including a nighttime sexual assault.” Senecal was arrested, charged, and after two years of court hearings was sentenced to 18 months in jail, but was released six months early.

Time and time again, it’s clear that what is needed is a justice minister (and system) who will face grieving parents and commit to restoring order, not deflect with empty, out-of-touch platitudes.

The trauma inflicted on innocent children and communities will last a lifetime, and it’s time to restore order so Canada doesn’t continue its descent into the Wild West.