January 31, 2008

Hon. Roy McMurtry
Mr. Alvin Curling
Co-Chairs
Review of the Roots of Youth Violence
Government of Ontario
880 Bay Street, 2nd Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 2B6

Dear Chairs;

I am responding to your call for opinions and suggestions for the Review of the Roots of Youth Violence process established by the Ontario Government.

The level of violence involving youth has unfortunately been at an unacceptable level during the last few years in Etobicoke North. The repercussions of violent incidents have been very damaging to our community. Starting from the direct impact to victims and their families who have suffered casualties as a result of youth violence, to the impact on the community in general which feels trapped in this vicious environment of violence, intimidation and isolation, our community is suffering the ramifications of the violent actions of a small group of violent offenders. Unfortunately, the generalization of this violent activity as being reflective of our community has further stigmatized our youth and our community.

The root of youth violence, in my opinion, is the lack of a structured environment to supervise and guide our young people. This fact is the result of a great disparity in socio-economic resources and opportunities for some members of our community, relative to resources available to other segments of the general population. Many convicted youth offenders come from dysfunctional families that could have been a by-product, at some level, of their lack of socio-economic resources and opportunities.

There is also the issue of low education levels among youth who are involved in violent activities. This problem is further aggravated by the high number of expulsions of children and youth from our education system. Although I believe that appropriate penalties should be applied for violent offences, I believe that the expulsion of students may be over-utilized when dealing with chronic attendance and truancy problems. This approach only places more misguided young people on the street to be tempted to become involved in illegal activities that generally involve violence. The lack of education puts young people at a disadvantage in any environment.

In Etobicoke North, there are many programs supported with federal government funding that have been implemented to deal with the problem of youth violence. The Canadian Training Institute operates the Rexdale Breaking the Cycle: Youth Gang Exit and Ambassador Leadership Program. With the participation of youth counsellors and community volunteers, this program has engaged young people to turn their lives around and leave their involvement with gangs behind. Over the last few years, hundreds of young people have participated and benefited from this program. Considering the mission statement of the program, the success rate is extremely high. For example, in the 2006-2007 fiscal period there were fifty young people involved in the program with forty seven graduates. Of the three people who did not complete the program, two were arrested and one gained full-time employment. This program is supported by the National Crime Prevention Program and other community organization in the community.

Another program that is very effective in involving youth in positive activities is Hoops Unlimited. This program operates after-school programs, sporting leagues and character building workshops at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School. The Albion Boys and Girls Club, under the direction of the Albion Neighbourhood Services community outreach agency, also provides effective after-school programs in the areas of tutoring, sports and recreation. A key element that will further support these programs and solidify youth involvement will be the implementation of extra-curricular activities within primary and secondary schools in the area. These programs have been reduced or eliminated in the recent past by school boards due to lack of budgetary resources and motivational tools for the involvement of teachers.

Other programs that are contributing to the protection of our youth, are the community groups being formed at schools through different Breakfast Clubs. These regular sessions foster interaction among the members of our community and provide an environment of co-operation and understanding. These clubs encourage communication links amongst school administrators, parents and the community at large. Lastly, the involvement of faith based groups engage youth in a united and inclusive front through after-school programs, community walks and faith based youth clubs. As an effective tool to engage youth, programs offered at city operated community centres should be expanded to allow for greater participation and a solid community building strategy. Inter-faith programs should also be encouraged and supported to break down intolerance and build mutual respect.

Unfortunately, one of the areas that needs attention is the uprooting of career criminals to prevent the negative influence of children and youth. For example, in May 2006, there was a raid carried out in the Jamestown neighbourhood. This part of our community has been excessively affected by incidents of youth violence. The raid ended with the arrest of over one hundred individuals. Within weeks, suspects were released on bail before their trial date. Trial dates usually take months if not years to set in already overbooked courts. This practice enables suspects, who in many cases have been convicted of other crimes, to roam our streets and continue with their violent-prone activities. I am supportive of the idea of having reverse onus for bail for suspects accused of gun crimes. This approach will certainly support the efforts of our law enforcement agencies to investigate and lay charges against obvious suspects, and will also assist in the protection of other young people being influenced or intimidated by these people.

Further, on the supply side, we need to completely ban handguns. This will certainly minimize the availability of guns in the criminal world. This approach combined with harsh punishments for the possession of handguns, will dramatically protect our youth from involvement in gun-related crimes. Our Liberal Party announced our intention to ban handguns during the 2005/2006 federal election campaign. The former Prime Minister Right Honourable Paul Martin made this announcement during the campaign at the Elmbank Community Centre in Etobicoke North in January 2006.

In summary, we do have programs that are effectively dealing with the problem of youth violence. The operations of after school programs, sporting and recreation leagues and community interaction sessions are helping us engage our youth, however, these programs need to be expanded for greater access by those most at risk. Unfortunately, our community has a great divide of socio-economic resources. In most cases a small user fee charge can be the difference between individuals participating in programs/activities or not. Thus, greater funding needs to be provided to support the organizations providing these programs.

Law enforcement policies and regulations need to be revised to best address the issue of youth violence. Legal prosecution and penalty tools have to be revised for people accused of violent crimes. Our Liberal government in our last mandate introduced measures to 'get tougher' on gun crimes and we support the current federal Conservative Government with any reasonable and balanced measures they introduce into Parliament to address these issues. Suspects should prove that they will not be a liability to the community if granted bail. Also, school administrators should review their discipline policies to prevent placing young people at risk by applying suspension and expulsion policies unnecessarily. Perhaps further funding should be allocated to schools to implement expansive extra-curricular programs and after-school detention programs. This will certainly enable a positive supervisory environment for our young people. Of course, for any of these suggestions to be considered, there should be consultations with the members of our community, involving a wide range of perspectives, to arrive at community based policies. Without the engagement of members of our community, it will be difficult to achieve any successful progress in decreasing the number of violent incidents and the number of youth involved in such criminal offences.

I thank you for your consideration. Good luck in your deliberations. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to contact my office.

Yours sincerely,

Hon. Roy Cullen, P.C., M.P.
Etobicoke North