Langley school board candidate discusses conviction from 20 years ago

Langley school board candidate Blake Venechuk says his past taught him the value of accountability. He was arrested 20 years ago in connection with a gun-trafficking ring, and the conviction came to light during the municipal election campaign ahead of this weekend’s vote. He answered questions by email from the Langley Advance Times.

Venechuk called the conviction an overwhelming wake-up call about how much he had let down his family and himself. He recalled that his father left a note on the table before going to work on the day he was sentenced. It read: “There is nothing else I can do for you son.” Venechuk said he still keeps the note as a reminder of the pain he caused his parents.

Abbotsford Police arrested Venechuk after a 15-month investigation into a gun-trafficking ring. Police identified him as one of about half a dozen “middle men.” He described himself at the time as a “naive 23-year-old farm boy from Alberta who had just moved to the big city.” After earning his commercial helicopter pilot’s licence, he faced substantial student loan debt. He said people he met at a local gym convinced him he could make big money by delivering a package. “I was caught, and honestly, I am grateful that I was,” he said.

Court records involving one of his co-accused say police were surveilling Venechuk on April 25, 2006, when he drove to the 8 Rinks complex in Burnaby. He picked up a box from another man and was later stopped by police. The box contained three machine pistols, three stocks and gun magazines; none of the firearms had serial numbers. Venechuk was sentenced to three years in prison in early 2008. He said the Parole Board of Canada granted him accelerated parole, meaning he served six months in prison. He is now seeking a pardon and said the application is in its final stages of approval.

Since leaving prison, Venechuk has started two private gyms, sold a business and bought a local farm where he has hosted programs for the Langley School District. He also founded Agri-Kids, a non-profit focused on food sustainability and security, as well as land preservation. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Venechuk, who is of Ukrainian heritage, opened the farm for regular gatherings for people who had fled the war and settled in the Lower Mainland.

Venechuk said he has raised more than $20,000 since 2022 for BGC Langley (Boys and Girls Club) and BGC South Coast, and donated tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of food products to various community projects. Other groups he has supported include the Langley Food Bank, Raphael House, Langley Christmas Bureau and Langley Environmental Partners Society.

Asked whether he expected his conviction to come up during his campaign for a trustee seat, Venechuk said: “In politics, anything can come up, no matter how long ago it was.” He said he has had to sit down with his children and explain what happened, reiterating that mistakes can haunt a person for the rest of their life. “I will continue to use this a learning lesson for my children,” he said.