Editorial

An ‘action plan’ to address gun violence

Louis March, the founder of the Zero Gun Violence Movement (ZGVM) of Toronto, must be tired hearing himself say the same thing over and over, year after year.

But March is a man with a message – an important message that bears repeating.

And he is determined to take  that message to the highways and byways of Toronto and beyond.

Last Saturday his mission took him to an area of Toronto where recently a 20-year old man was shot dead.

People there had gathered to discuss the problem of gun violence plaguing their community.

And March again spoke out about the need for what he called an “action plan.”

He pointed out that ” Toronto has the means, resources and skills to address the gun violence crisis in the city.”

But what it lacked, he said, is ” the political will and courage to step up and craft a comprehensive strategic  anti-gun and gang violence action plan,”

Well, people in our Caribbean community are waking up  and realizing that indeed an action plan is badly needed to combat gun violence which since the beginning of this year has already taken eight lives in Toronto.

We are pleased to note tthat along with the ZGVM, several community organization are now calling on the City of Toronto to get things moving with respect to addressing gun violence.

The Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA) and five of its “community partners” are calling on the City to develop a ” comprehensive, coordinated and integrated strategy ” to deal with the problem.

In a press release from the JCA , the organizations point out that ” the development of an integrated, inter-agency gun violence reduction strategy, which connects the City of Toronto, Toronto Police Service, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, and Toronto Public Health and their respective strategies, is urgently needed to ensure greater coordination and impact. ”

We believe that such a comprehensive strategy would considerably reduce gun violence.

And we hope that the Mayor and City Council give serious consideration to the proposal from the JCA and its community partners.

Community organizations call on City of Toronto to develop gun violence reduction strategy

“We are heartbroken and outraged over the latest spate of violence, including the shooting of another child. Communities are in crisis as the city continues to face a spate of shootings,” says the JCA in a news release.

It notes that ” this is occurring amidst the backdrop of a proposed [ City] budget of $13.98 billion that again neglects sufficient investments in community – based and community-led solutions to the rise in violence,”

The release points out that ” the development of an integrated, inter-agency gun violence reduction strategy, which connects the City of Toronto, Toronto Police Service, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, and Toronto Public Health and their respective strategies, is urgently needed to ensure greater coordination and impact. ”

It states that  “while some funding is currently provided to a small number of community agencies to address some aspects of this issue, the effect of these uncoordinated investments, outside of the framework of a gun violence strategy, has been minimal.

“Given the complexity of the issues, it is incumbent on Mayor Tory and City Council to demonstrate the necessary leadership by creating a long-term City of Toronto strategy that responds urgently and works in tandem with all other city agencies and their respective strategies.”

The five “community partners” that have joined with the JCA in calling for a  ” gun violence reduction strategy ” are the Zero Gun Violence Movement of Toronto, the Association of Black Law Enforcers, the Black Health Alliance,  the Destiny Gospel Centre and the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council -Jamaica.

Toronto Police report that since the beginning of this year there have been  39 shootings in the city resulting in eight deaths.