This morning, I presented to the Executive Committee at City Hall as part of their update on the Toronto Gun Violence Strategy. I spoke of the need for a handgun ban as part of an overall anti-violence strategy.
For those of you who read this blog regularly, you will know that this is an issue that is of extreme importance to the Toronto Police Services Board.
You can read my previous entries THE INACTION IS DEAFENING, BANNING HANDGUNS AND OTHER MEASURES - WE NEED ACTION NOW and ISN'T IT IRONIC?
Here is an excerpt of my presentation this morning.
I am pleased to say that the elements of your Gun Violence Strategy are entirely consistent with the position that the Board has articulated. You have, therefore, our full support in your efforts to rid our streets of illegal handguns.
We are heartened by the fact that in the three years between 2005 and 2007, there was a steady decline in shooting occurrences as well as in the number of victims. However, there were more deaths in 2007 than in the year before, and there were fewer occurrences last year in which there were no injuries. Shooting occurrences and injuries in 2008 to date, show a downward trend compared to 2006. Nevertheless, the number of deaths remains unacceptably high and must cause all of us concern.
We must also be concerned by the fact that the decline in the number of gun calls is not consistent or shared across the City. And it should worry all of us greatly that many of the accused and victims of gun violence are young people of colour who ought to be pursuing their future in schools and not chasing or dodging bullets on the streets. As your Update notes, “The rate of youth aged 12 to 17 accused of a firearm-related offence has risen in three of the past four years.”
We know that a ban is not the only answer to a complex problem. The Board has long taken a multi-pronged approach to dealing with gun violence in this city. We have asked for, and ourselves worked to put in place, a combination of measures to promote strong enforcement as well as prevention. However, the Board has recognized that a handgun ban is, quite simply, an essential element of a comprehensive anti-violence strategy. Therefore, demand for strong and effective political, legislative, and judicial action to deal with the illegal importation, circulation and use of handguns has always been an important component of that approach.
In the past three years, I have communicated the Board’s position to our province’s and the country’s political leadership. We have, as well, enlisted the support of our provincial and national associations. I believe that there is widespread support among Canadians for a total ban on handguns for purposes other than law enforcement. These calls have come from many people, including Chief Blair, victims of gun crime, who know firsthand the shattering effect of handguns – and yourself, Mr. Mayor.
And because of this widespread support, I have, in the past, publicly conveyed my disappointment in Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day’s outright refusal to consider such a ban.
We need to send a clear message about handgun crime – it will not be tolerated. Anything less may placate the gun lobby but it will be of no help to those in our communities who continue to suffer from the devastating effects of handgun violence. And it will do absolutely nothing for the young victims and grieving families in certain parts of our City who, as we know, bear a disproportionate share of the social cost of this violence.
I believe that a handgun ban is an issue that requires non-partisan political leadership. The federal government must be persuaded of the necessity of concrete and immediate action so that we can rid our communities of handguns now and put an end to their tragic toll. And for this to happen, we need to build broad political and societal support.
Your letter to the Prime Minister and your call to all our national political leaders is a step that we very much support, Mr. Mayor. We support, as well, your intention to build a broad base of support across the country.
You can be assured that the Toronto Police Services Board will be a partner in this effort. It will continue to play a leadership role on this issue in the provincial and national organizations to which it belongs as well as in the political interactions in which it participates.
Thank you
