IHMS – COMMENTARY
A DAY OF ACTION TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE
Evidences and Lessons from Toronto, Canada
Written by Professor Abdi Khalil
Not only the high profile mass shootings in public arenas, worship places and schools that must work to prevent, but also the daily gun violence that claims more young lives in marginalized neighborhoods in the cities. In fact, both gangs and irresponsible police officers do contribute to significant killings in the inner cities.
According to Canada’s government statistics agency, gun violence overall rose by more than 40 percent in Canada between 2013 and 2017, with much of that increase driven by incidents in Toronto. According to Police statistics, by the end of 2019, more than 760 people had been shot in the city, 44 of whom were killed, and were mostly racial young persons.
On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, with courage and humanity filled actions, Mothers of Peace group in collaboration with various community based groups, a virtual meeting was held in tackling issues related to gun violence in Toronto. Under a theme ‘A day of action to prevent gun violence’, various community leaders, Toronto Police representative, lawyers, activists, politicians, parents, as well as, close to 200 concerned citizens participated in the discussion; looking for mutual understanding, and seeking for possible solutions to eradicate gun violence that usually affects lives of many young souls in vulnerable communities in Toronto.
The meeting was facilitated by Mothers of Peace group. Many parents came out and boldly shared their tragic stories, physical and mental devastations; loss of their young children in the hands of assorted perpetrators including the police. With tangible evidences, some mothers pointed out that their sons were murdered because of systemic racism, xenophobia and institutionalize discriminations. Along with mothers, many college and university students also expressed their fears, mistrust, police harassments and hassles that have affected their educational performances and mental health. Many participants also deeply expressed that their families and many communities are hit by tsunamis of unmanageable trauma.
Indeed, all the stories were heartbreaking and painful; among these, a mother shared a striking manifestation of institutional discrimination; how the case of her juvenile son was unjustly handled by the Judiciary. Her son was not charged at the time of the incidence; rather his case was deliberately postponed until he reached 18 years of age, and then convicted for a maximum possible sentence. Beyond reasonable doubt, this kind of painful story happen to prove the existence of racial profiling and abuse of laws within legal institutions. A true picture of systemic discrimination even within the Judiciary, which was supposed to protect the defenseless.
The participants vividly highlighted the many deep-rooted institutional discriminations, which caused many human rights violations, daily killings by gun, racism and health problems in the city. The participants raised many robust questions, and assorted professionals tried to answer with empathy. The deliberations were lively and interesting with dynamic participations from deputy police, lawyers, opposition politician, former TDSB trustee, community leaders, activists, parents, college and university students, as well as, many more concerned citizens.
Here are some useful information and lessons learnt from this virtual meeting! The panelists –
- Acknowledged that racism still exists and it is real. With the issues at hand, there are dire needs the police services to have candid conversations, consensus and working together with the communities to mitigate institutional discriminations such police brutality, inappropriate use of force, and especially police harassment of young persons from marginalized neighborhoods.
- Informed the participants that there are several avenues to formally file a complaint about any police misconduct. The lawyer advised, “If a police officer is uncivil to anyone, and arrests a person without warrant, there are panoply of resources available to defend the victim from police harassments and misconduct.” Some of the actions the parents or community leaders can take are – (a) to reach out to Division Police Superintendent, or Senior Police/Staff Sergeant in a Police Division, (b) to reach out to relevant lawyer, (c) to report to the office of Independent Police Director (IPD), (d) to file a complaint to human rights tribunal and civil actions, (e) to contact Canadian Black Lawyers Association, and (f) to contact Law Society and Legal Aid in Toronto.
- With respect to keeping confidentiality, a lawyer informed the participants that the police cannot willy-nilly share confidential information about the victim as there are many protective legislations. Among various Acts and Legislations, the few are – Police Acts, The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), Mental Health Act, Municipal Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts, and many more legislations are available to protect confidentiality of a victim.
- Among many reasons discussed in relation to gun violence in marginalized communities, the root causes of racial profiling, systemic racism and police violence are interwoven deep into government institutions including police services, and tangibly trickling down in the school systems. Evidences are abound – for example, institutional racism in the Judiciary had misused the Young Offenders Act, which has resulted in 80 percent of the prison population being persons with no high school qualifications. In addition, Toronto District School Board’s policies such as The Right to Pass, Students Suspension and Expulsion Policies do significantly affect many marginalized students, and in fact contributing to many 9th graders ending up in the streets of Toronto and becoming unemployment statistics.
- Indicated that among the many embedded systemic discriminations, Police Services are also largely to blame. As much as enforcing Law and Order is very important to protect citizens and keep the city safe, the police services remiss accountability, transparency, community consultations and feedback mechanisms to the community at large.
- Though invited, disappointingly, no TDSB representative showed up for this meeting; appear to suggest no responsibility and accountability from such institution. However, a former TDSB trustee explained how Media, as vanguard of public and private institution, also get involved indirectly in systemic discriminations. Be it social or mainstream Media, Media are unfortunately at the forefront of constructing racial profiling, stereotyping, reinforcing xenophobic attitudes, and creating mistrust among diverse communities across Canada. The media often provide biased news, misinformation and disinformation related to minorities or disadvantage communities. The media is partial to blame for many human rights abuses, bigotry, chaos and mental stress impacting minorities and vulnerable communities across Canada.
The meeting ended with common understanding that the police services ought to enhance their collaboratively work with communities, parents, elders, the youth and civic organizations in order to mitigate fear, mistrust, gun pandemic and systemic discrimination within the City of Toronto and beyond. Time and again, to avoid loss of young lives, and to decrease heartbreaking street shootings and abuses of law enforcement in the city; several suggestions were made – (1) engage marginalized communities in any design and policy formulations, (2) establish accountability and transparency in Police Services, (3) invest in vulnerable communities to promote mental and well-being programs, (4) understand diversity and uphold minority rights, and (5) address root causes of gun violence such as institutional discrimination, prejudice, racism, education inequalities, unemployment and poverty at large.
In a nutshell, to have meaningful impact in diverse communities – government officials must equitably serve, protect, expand, engage, innovate, research and fairly provide services in excessively disadvantaged communities. Remember, diversity is natural and cannot be wiped out. Injustice and Inequality always ignite violence, while Humanity and Justice often fix any Political, Economic or Social problems anywhere! Emphasizing to always support diverse community planning and implementation of comprehensive community safety plans including preventions and interventions.
Keep healthy and safe until the next meeting.
Aselam Alyekum