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The Toronto Sun DATE: 2005.08.05 EDITION: Final SECTION: Editorial/Opinion PAGE: 18 COLUMN: Editorial -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOUGH TALK ON GUN CRIME -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRESSED BY reporters yesterday as to whether his latest task force against gun violence is just another "shell game," Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair visibly bristled -- just as his predecessor Julian Fantino used to do. "It is absolutely not a shell game," Blair declared, stressing that an immediate infusion of a "significant number" of cops into the gun-plagued northwest area of the city will strike a strong and effective blow against the rival gangs whose bloody turf war has terrorized the area -- with 16 people shot in just the past two weeks. Good for him. Blair's no-nonsense approach to the senseless violence is welcome -- especially now that a 4-year-old boy is among the latest gunfire victims -- caught in the crossfire of one of two drive-by shootings Wednesday night (the other, which also occurred where children were present, killed a 25-year-old man). "I think the entire city is appalled," Blair said. "When a child is so recklessly and wantonly put at risk as was the case in this case, it demands an overwhelming response." Absolutely -- although we can't help recalling that, sadly, this is by no means the first case of an innocent child being hit by gangster gunfire on our streets. Last November, 11-year-old Tamara Carter was shot in the head on a TTC bus in a still-unsolved attack. In 1999, 3-year-old Breanna Davy was fatally shot in the head in her father's car by a passing gunman. We've also seen many sickening cases of bullets barely missing children or hitting empty cribs and baby seats. As part of their new show of force -- continuing tactics Blair said were largely successful in Malvern -- police laid a whopping 58 charges against the suspect in the child's shooting, including eight of attempted murder (three adults were wounded in the same drive-by). That's impressive, but the problem is, in our court system it's highly unlikely so many charges will stick, never mind lead to tough sentences if there's a conviction. Blair acknowledged this yesterday, saying: "When people receive a sentence for a gun-related crime and then are very quickly released back into the community, I think the public has every right to be concerned about the effectiveness of the system." Exactly. That's where public and political outcry must focus, if all the hard police work is to make a difference. It's all very well to decry gun smuggling from the U.S. (as Premier Dalton McGuinty did yesterday), but as Blair noted, some 25% of the thugs police arrest for gun crimes already have a record for similar offences. WHY ARE THEY BACK ON THE STREET? Until our leaders insist on laws that carry tough sentences for gun crime, and on judges actually imposing those sentences, the gun-toting gangsters won't stop. That's the real "shell game" at work here, and it's deadly. ------------------------------------------------------- APRIL 14, 2005 HANSARD
- HON. IRWIN COTLER (MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA,
LIB.): "Mr. Speaker, we take all crime seriously. When it comes
to mandatory minimum, we will not go ahead and introduce something that
all the evidence shows is neither effective nor a deterrent. We want to
combat crime, but not with ineffective deterrents."
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