TORONTO – Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said that government and community leaders need to come to the table with offers rather than demands as they work towards eradicating gang and gun violence in Toronto.
Ontario’s Premier was in Scarborough on Friday afternoon to discuss strategies with community leaders on how to eradicate gang violence.
Speaking at the East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club, just blocks away from Danzig Street where the mass shooting took place on Monday, McGuinty said that crime rates were down in Toronto because of a concerted effort between government, the community, police, and community programs.
“This is a day for us to better understand the funding we have put in place over the last several years. The fact of the matter is that its had a positive impact,” McGuinty said.
Crime rates in Toronto have fallen 14 per cent in recent years, McGuinty said, because of a concerted effort between all three levels of government, police, and social programs.
Though Mayor Ford, who recently was the sole city councillor to vote against millions of dollars in grants to community programs – including the East Scarborough Boys and Girls Program – suggested that the money granted by the city does not help.
“The best social program is a job,” Mayor Ford said on Thursday. “I don’t believe in these programs. I call them ‘hug a thug” programs, and they haven’t been very productive in the past, and I don’t know why we’re continuing with them.”
Premier Dalton McGuinty though suggests gang violence is a complex issue, which cannot be tackled through only one avenue.
“That’s short-sighted. It reflects a lack of understanding that this is a complicated problem and its going to take all of us, and its going to take all of us at our best,” McGuinty said.
The East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club is offering grief counselling services to families and youth affected by the fatal shooting.
The club is on Galloway Road in east Scarborough, an area known to be the gang-territory of the “Galloway Boys” – a notorious Toronto gang.
Chief Bill Blair suggested on Tuesday that the shooting was “highly suggestive” of gang involvement.
19-year old Nahom Tsegazeb of Toronto has been charged as part of Monday’s shooting. The teenager was charged with the reckless discharge of a firearm.
Police suggest the charge does not relate to either of the fatally wounded victims – 14-year old Shyanne Charles and 23-year old Joshua Yasay.
Police are continuing to investigate, and reports suggest other suspects are being sought.
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