Ontario spends $20M to curb youth violence, boost community safety
Ontario is spending another $20 million to boost community safety and curb youth violence in the wake of the deadly Danzig St. mass shooting in Scarborough last month.
Crime Stoppers rewards will be doubled to as much as $2,000 for tips that get guns off the streets, another 35 youth outreach workers will be added across the province — bringing the total to 97 — and summer work programs expanded to include after-school jobs.
“It’s another starting point,” Children and Youth Services Minister Eric Hoskins said Wednesday at the downtown YMCA. The efforts will help another13,000 youth, he added.
Funding for the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy and a similar provincial program (TAVIS and PAVIS) will be made permanent, Hoskins also announced. As part of TAVIS, Toronto police have 30 officers in high schools to reach out to students. Deputy Chief Peter Sloly of Toronto police applauded the extra investment from the province but cautioned: “We’ve all got to take this as a first step, not a solution.” New Democrat MPP Jagmeet Singh (Bramalea—Gore—Malton) accused the Liberal government of “sitting on” a four-year-old report on youth violence and said poverty is often at the root of problems. Boosting rewards under Crime Stoppers sounds great but isn’t clear-cut, said outreach worker Likwa Nkala of East Metro Youth Services. “There are some people who, even when you have an increased amount of money, they still won’t call in that tip,” Nkala said in an interview. “It can have a domino effect. That guy who’s carrying the gun is somebody’s father or brother, is somebody’s provider. So some communities are reluctant to deal with a situation in that way.”
The July 16 Danzig St. tragedy was the worst mass shooting in Toronto’s history, leaving two dead and 23 wounded after weapons were fired at a community barbecue just south of Morningside Ave. and Lawrence Ave. E.
Youth workers in the GTA will increase to 55 from the current 35 under the program, with the other15 new spread across the province.