Parents shocked after two Montreal-area daycare managers charged with smuggling ghost guns

Several parents say they were shocked to learn the managers of two Montreal-area daycares have been charged with smuggling ghost guns across the Canadian border.

Stacy St-Pierre, 42, and his spouse, 45-year-old Ruby Sharma, were arrested by the RCMP on July 14, 2023. They were released without charges "pending the completion of the investigation" and continued to manage two daycares in Vaudreuil and St-Lazare.

The couple was charged seven months later — last Friday — with possession for the purpose of weapons trafficking and importing or exporting unauthorized guns.

Police alleged they smuggled six ghost guns, which are typically made from assembled parts or 3D printers, making them difficult for police to trace.

According to an email obtained by CTV News, Quebec's families ministry asked the owner of Garderie Precious Cargo Inc. to do new background checks on the couple after the charges were laid.

'I couldn't believe what I was reading'

Parents say they were stunned after reading about the charges and that they question the managers' judgment.

"When I found this out at first, it was so shocking that I thought it was artificial intelligence. I thought somebody had, you know, made a meme or something. I was completely gobsmacked. I couldn't believe what I was reading," one parent told CTV News in an interview. "Right away, I said to myself, 'I'm not taking my [child] back to that daycare and until I have more explanations.'"

According to the RCMP allegations, Sharma and St-Pierre were stopped while entering from the United States at the Lacolle, Que. border crossing last summer with six privately manufactured Glock-style Polymer 80s. The so-called ghost guns they had allegedly smuggled had no serial numbers.

A car heads to the U.S. border crossing, Monday, August 9, 2021 in Lacolle, Que., south of Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Three parents spoke to CTV News on the condition that their names not be published due to fears of repercussions on their children. Two of them say they have pulled their kids from the daycare because they’re worried about their kids’ safety.

"It's everything that gravitates around guns — it's organized crime, it's street gangs, it's non-licensed, no serial number ghost guns like that are used on the black market and sold for very, very expensive. It's the people that are involved with these types of crimes that scares me," one parent said.

"Guns and children do not go together."

Another mother said she left her work early in the middle of the day Friday to pull her child out of the daycare after reading the news of the charges and hasn't brought the child back since.

"Until the case has gone to court and their names are either cleared or they are found guilty, I do not want [the accused] involved with the daycare," said the parent.

A third parent told CTV News that she doesn't feel like the daycare owner is taking the allegations seriously and accused her of giving the managers special treatment due to their familial ties.

Managers will no longer be present, parents told

Sharma and the daycare owner did not respond to CTV News’ requests for comment on Tuesday.

According to a memo sent to the parents on Tuesday, the owner said she will serve as "acting director" and that Sharma and St-Pierre "will no longer be at the daycare until everything is sorted out."

The email from the ministry, which oversees daycares in Quebec, requested that new checks be carried out on the two accused "if they remain employed."

The ministry said that it only learned about the charges when they were laid last week.

When asked if the two accused can continue working in the daycares, ministry spokesperson Wendy Whittom said, "The ministry suspends a licencee's licence under investigation or arrest, but the individuals in question are not licensed to operate the daycare. For its part, the ministry is making sure all checks are carried out to ensure the health and safety of the children."

Sgt. Charles Poirier, an RCMP spokesperson, said in an email that the police service notified Quebec's families ministry about the charges last Friday.

"However it is worthy to note that there is no indication that would suggest that the daycares have anything to do with the infractions, but obviously given the gravity of the infractions it was necessary to notify the Ministère de la famille," he wrote in the email.

The two accused are scheduled to appear in court again on April 4.