Ottawa: Gun and gang activity in Ontario has been a long-standing problem affecting the quality of life in neighbourhoods and how people live their lives.
The Government of Canada is taking action to combat gun and gang violence in communities by investing $54 million in the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence across Canada.
The funds will be provided over three years starting in 2020 to support Ontario’s Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy (GGVRS). This funding is in addition to the $11 million over two years announced in March, bringing the total investment over the five-year initiative to $65 million.
This support will help the province continue its work on the GGVRS and continue to deliver province-wide initiatives focusing on the prevention, intervention, enforcement, and prosecution of gun and gang violence in communities. The funding received from the federal government will specifically target initiatives that stop and address violent criminal activity before it starts, and provide exit strategies for youth already involved in gang activity.
Toronto CCTV Funding
In Toronto, Premier Doug Ford joined Mayor John Tory to announce funding for new closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras to help police respond to Toronto’s recent episodes of gun violence. This investment by the Ontario government will more than double the number of cameras currently operated by the Toronto Police Service.
The new funding is in addition to the commitment made last week by the Government of Ontario to support the Toronto Police Service’s recently announced Project Community Space. This 11-week initiative will put more police officers on the ground in surge areas to increase the safety of Toronto neighbourhoods where recent episodes of gun violence have occurred.
“Our government is taking the necessary steps to protect law-abiding citizens and keep violent criminals off our streets,” said Premier Ford. “This investment will give the Toronto Police Service the tools they need to fight gun and gang violence in Toronto and put violent criminals behind bars – where they belong. I want to thank Mayor Tory, Chief Saunders, and the officers on the ground for their tireless efforts to keep people safe.”
Ontario is investing $28 million over four years in the fight against guns and gangs in Toronto. In addition to the $28 million invested in Toronto over four years, the Ontario government has also launched a province-wide strategy to curb gun crime and dismantle gangs once and for all.
Canada Quick Facts
In March 2018, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness convened a Summit on Gun and Gang Violence to engage stakeholders and address the challenges, opportunities and best practices for reducing gun crime and gang violence in Canada. Representatives of community, youth and Indigenous organizations, law enforcement, criminal justice, all levels of government, former gang members, academics, gun-owner groups and victims of violence provided their input.
The Government of Canada invested $327.6 million over five years to help support a variety of initiatives to reduce gun crime and criminal gang activities under the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence.
From the $327.6 million, $214 million will be made available to the provinces and territories through the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund over a period of five years. $86M is provided to the CBSA and RCMP to help prevent illegal firearms and concealed goods from coming into the country illegally, while providing necessary resources for firearms investigations.
As part of its commitment to community funding under the Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence, the Government of Canada also invested an additional $8 million over the next four years in the Youth Gang Prevention Fund beginning in 2019 under the National Crime Prevention Strategy.
The Government of Canada also announced $1.5 million to the City of Toronto to support policing efforts to help keep communities safe following a spike in gun violence in the city. This will be part of the overall $4.5 million payment announced August 13, 2019 with equal contributions made by all of the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and the City of Toronto.
Ontario Quick Facts
The $3 million investment will increase Toronto’s CCTV system from 34 cameras to 74. This year, $2 million will be spent on the infrastructure, while $500,000 will be spent the following two years to support ongoing operational costs.
In March, 2019 the Ontario government announced $16.4 million over two years to combat guns and gangs by combining enforcement, intervention and prevention initiatives for at-risk populations.