Gun violence: the crisis no one is talking about
This year, politicians have scrambled to introduce and implement policies to contain many crises facing the city of Toronto. Soaring housing prices, public transit in desperate need of funding, and hundreds of social housing units too dangerous to be inhabited.
There is, however, another crisis that has garnered much less political attention. This crisis not only has the potential to threaten the livelihoods of Torontonians, but also their lives. Gun violence. The tragic shootings in Scarborough last weekend mark the city’s 204th shooting of the year — a 5-percent increase from the same time last year — with a total 308 shooting victims. Gun homicides increased 58 per cent, from 26 in 2015 to 41in 2016; there have been 20 gun fatalities so far this year.
Despite a 25-year decline in overall crime, shootings and gun homicides are rising.
Even with these frightening statistics, Toronto’s elected city council continues to ignore this urgent issue. Now is not the time for the mayor and city councillors to be relaxing on summer vacation.
Last year, Mayor John Tory sent letters to Ralph Goodale, the federal minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, and Yasir Naqvi, the then-provincial minister of community safety. Tory highlighted the problem of increasing gun violence in the city and requested the ministers address the problem of gun smuggling across the border and other illicit sales of firearms within Canada. This, however, is not enough. In the seven months since the last letter was sent, there has been little update from Mayor Tory or city council about new initiatives to address these matters. Mayor Tory cannot simply blame shootings on “gangsters” and “gang subculture.” He — working in tandem with other city councillors and the provincial and federal ministers — must also develop a plan to pinpoint and tackle the underlying causes that push young people toward using guns to solve conflicts.
It’s an absurdity when young men claim it’s easier to get a gun than a job and an indictment against this self-proclaimed world-class city of Toronto — a world-class city for some, but clearly not for all. Why do Torontonians continue to accept that people who live in Rexdale are twice as likely to be unemployed and three times more likely to be lowincome than people who live in Rosedale?
The acceptance of Toronto as a divided city, with zero gun violence for some but for not others, can no longer be tolerated.
The American Public Health Association has recognized gun violence as a public health crisis. It’s time for the city of Toronto to also treat it as such. Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition for Gun Control in Canada, has also suggested the same, noting that gun deaths and injuries pose a problem that can be reduced through effective public health strategies.
Local government officials seem to prefer to take delegation trips to Hollywood and India rather than organizing a delegation to Parliament Hill or Queen’s Park to address root causes of gun violence, such as illicit gun sales and lack of access to quality education.
Local government officials seem to prefer to take delegation trips to Hollywood and India rather than organizing a delegation to Parliament Hill or Queen’s Park to address causes of gun violence
In order to address this escalating threat, Toronto city council should immediately convene an antigun violence forum that gathers all parties affected by this issue. This includes ex-offenders, gang members, the families of both shooting victims and shooters, youth service workers, crown prosecutors, judges, educators, doctors, government representatives, media and academics.
All stakeholders must come together with a single objective: to define the complexity of the problem and focus on finding solutions. The pressing nature of this situation necessitates a frank — yet essential — conversation.
Gun violence isn’t only a problem to be solved by government. There must be a collaborative and collective effort to solve what affects every resident of Toronto, regardless of their social status or where they reside in the city.
It’s time for all politicians to show political will and courage and finally work toward eradicating gun violence that has been plaguing the city for far too long while traumatizing and terrorizing so many.