A decorated Canadian military police officer is pursuing a $7-million lawsuit against the federal government and a New Hampshire-based gun manufacturer after being shot in the foot by his own holstered handgun — an incident that has reignited serious questions about the Department of National Defence's procurement of a pistol plagued by safety concerns south of the border.
Master Warrant Officer Jamie Deslaurier, a weapons instructor with decades of service, was wounded on April 16, 2024, at a military training facility in Borden, Ontario, when the C-22 pistol — Canada's version of the SIG Sauer P320 — allegedly discharged without any trigger being pulled.
The incident marks the second documented case of a Canadian soldier being wounded by the weapon, which has been the subject of hundreds of injury claims and lawsuits across the United States.
Concerns Raised, Decision Made Anyway
Deslaurier's lawsuit, filed in Ontario Superior Court, alleges that the federal government proceeded with the large-scale acquisition of the handgun despite being fully aware of documented safety defects and warnings from multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies that had suspended or discontinued use of the weapon.
The case directly contradicts previous statements from the Department of National Defence, which claimed last year that there had been zero misfire incidents or injuries during the rollout of the new firearms to Canadian Forces personnel.
"I was extremely angry with the fact that we procured this weapon and it's been employed in the Canadian Forces," Deslaurier told CBC News in a recent interview. "At this point in time, I was just looking for accountability, some transparency and to ensure the safety of the other members."
The P320 was selected as the replacement for the military's Second World War-era Browning 9-millimetre pistols. Despite a prior shooting incident involving a member of Canada's elite JTF 2 counterterrorism unit in November 2020 — which triggered a temporary pause on the rollout — the federal government decided in 2022 to move forward with the full acquisition.
Career Ended, Questions Remain
In his statement of claim, Deslaurier is seeking $4 million from SIG Sauer and $3 million from the federal government, arguing the P320 is fundamentally defective. He contends that Ottawa ignored documented safety concerns and proceeded with the purchase despite warnings from American law enforcement authorities.
The injury has effectively ended Deslaurier's military career. He had planned to serve several more years to reach the 25-year service mark, which would have entitled him to his full pension, followed by a transition to civilian law enforcement. That path is no longer possible due to his wound.
"Many in his unit were simply happy to get new guns," Deslaurier explained, but the incident has left him questioning how the federal government could justify the full purchase program when several major U.S. law enforcement agencies had either suspended or discontinued use of the same pistol.
CBC News investigations published in 2021, 2022, and 2025 have examined concerns surrounding the P320 platform and its apparent tendency to discharge without a trigger pull under certain conditions — a phenomenon that has affected hundreds of users in the United States.
This article is based on reporting from CBC Politics. Read the original investigation at CBC News.