Leaders from Toronto’s black community hold gun violence symposium

Leaders from Toronto’s black community held a symposium on gun violence on Thursday, where they presented an action plan targeting shootings in their communities.

The African Canadian Coalition of Community Organizations (ACCCO) said its presentation addressed all three levels of government and it won’t accept “false promises.”

ACCCO claims that 75 per cent of youth murders are in the African Canadian community, which should be regarded as a crisis – but it’s not.

The symposium, led by the African Canadian Legal Clinic, began meeting after a fatal shooting at a Scarborough barbecue on Danzig Street last summer.

Shyanne Charles, 14, and Joshua Yasay, 23, were killed on July 16, 2012 and 23 others were injured. ACCCO formed on July 19.

Its presentation comes as city council prepared to debate the effectiveness of programs targeting youth violence.

Coun. Josh Matlow introduced a motion, seconded by Scarborough Coun. Michael Thompson,  calling on the city to outline what has been done to address gun violence since the Roots of Youth Violence report came out in 2008 and if any of those programs have been successful.But discussion on the matter was postponed.

The Roots of Violence report recommended a joint Ontario-Toronto program targeting youth violence.

ACCCO claims there are only two community groups managed by African Canadians that receive core government funding – but none of that money comes from the city.

ACCCO said it should partner with the province to restructure funding “to include community professionals that produce effective results in spite of extremely limited funding.”

The group is also asking that outreach workers be trained on specific methods used in other African Canadian communities, and specific targets for evaluating outreach work.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today