Canada poll brings call to arms against guns L
30 gun deaths in Toronto this year lead to demands for stricter controls
ong associated with gang violence, the Regent Park neighbourhood of Canada’s largest city Toronto has changed. But firearms continue to claim lives, prompting calls ahead of national elections tomorrow for tougher gun controls.
But those working on the ground to make the community safer and steer youths away from a life of crime say tougher laws are not enough to stem the violence. “I’ve seen things here that you only see in movies,” said Christopher Rogers, a 35-yearold former gang member who grew up in the neighbourhood and now leads a youth awareness group. “I have great memories here and I also have very sad memories here, stuff that changed my life and made me who I am today,” he adds.
Regent Park was one of the largest social housing projects in Canada when it was erected in the late 1940s, but drug trafficking, shootings and gang activity have since then made it synonymous with crime.
Subject to an ambitious revitalisation since 2005, it now looks very different, yet remains a hotbed of violence. Just last month, two young men were wounded in shootings.
Since the beginning of the year, Toronto has been the scene of 370 shootings — more than twice as many as for the whole of 2014 — which killed 30 people. That prompted Mayor John Tory, along with other big city Canadian mayors facing similar spikes in gun violence, to demand stricter gun controls.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed a ban on assault rifles but stopped short of the handgun ban sought, saying only that he would help cities to restrict pistols and revolvers. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, who is neck-and-neck with Trudeau in the polls, said he supports tougher penalties for gun crimes rather than gun restrictions.