Your home is your castle.
Everyone wants to feel safe and secure in the place they call “home.” You work hard for it; you pay for it. Your beloved family lives there.
Unfortunately, for some residents, this feeling of safety and security was severely shaken when gunfire erupted in a south Etobicoke neighbourhood in early September.
About 80 gunshots were fired, in a gang-related shooting, which produced so many gun casings that the police ran out of evidence tags. When I visited the site of the shootings, I was horrified to see a childcare centre right across the street.
This is not an isolated incident: gun-related deaths are at record-high levels and other types of firearm-related violence is also on the rise.
I am proud of the Government’s work to date along with federal and local partners to launch a multi-year $106 million Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy which is taking a comprehensive approach to public safety addressing prevention, intervention and enforcement.
As part of the government’s strategy, they are investing in initiatives including: the provincial gun and gang support unit that supports investigations and prosecutions, and improve province wide coordination; funding programs to support major investigations that involve multiple police services, to target organized crime areas that fuel gang operations such as drug, gun and human trafficking; and increased funding for community policing programs.
The Government of Ontario also continues to invest in prevention programs for communities and youth at high risk of involvement in gangs. We also announced in August that we will invest $6 million and partner with police services across the province to expand the coverage of closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, a key tool in the fight against exactly the kind of guns and gangs and other criminal activity we saw in south Etobicoke.
But this is not enough, 80 percent of the guns used in crime are obtained by illegal means, including by smuggling across Canada’s borders. While police are working hard doing their job, we need to see the federal government step up and support them by introducing tougher penalties.
That is why in early October I introduced a Private Members Motion to the Legislature calling for the federal government to strengthen Criminal Code bail provisions for all charges related to firearms trafficking and violent gun offences, and to explore mandatory minimum sentences for gun trafficking. The motion was unanimously passed by the Legislature.
Let us be clear, possession and use of illegal firearms invariably lead to violence, often involving innocent bystanders. Keeping criminals behind bars for the duration of their sentences will go a long way to keeping our communities safer.
If you agree, I ask you to visit my website at christinehogarthMPP.ca and sign my petition. Illegal possession of firearms threatens the safety of all of us. Ontario is keen to work with Canada’s federal government and local police to address this concern.
Christine Hogarth is the MPP for Etobicoke Lakeshore and can be reached by phone at 416-259-2249 or by email at Christine.hogarth@pc.ola.org