As the Carney government promises bail reform, specifically for violent repeat offenders, the largest municipal police union in the country says it has been consulted on the issues.
The president of the Toronto Police Association says he had an hour-long meeting with key cabinet ministers who are meeting in Toronto ahead of Parliament’s return in less than two weeks. From guns to organized crime to youth violence to repeat offenders, Clayton Campbell tells CityNews he laid out all the ongoing issues putting public safety at risk.
“The citizens deserve better, they deserve to go about their daily lives without the fear for their safety or, God forbid, being shot in the streets of Toronto,” said Campbell.
“We didn’t pull any punches, it was a very, very frank conversation.”
The meeting comes a day after an innocent bystander was caught in the crossfire of a gun battle that erupted on a west-end street near a high school, and news that a 12-year-old Toronto boy arrested in connection with a shooting in Markham last month was out on a court release for other violent offences at the time. Police now confirm the boy was once again released on bail despite facing a new charge of attempted murder.
“In the past, we were never consulted by the Liberal government under Justin Trudeau. This is a complete 180 turn. We had the ministers responsible for these files, Toronto ministers actually showing up and asking, ‘What do we need?’”
Campbell says while some crime stats are going down, violence involving youth continues to escalate.
“We are seeing an increase of 31 per cent in the city, so clearly things are not working, so if there is anything they can do to try and make tougher sentences for that really small number of violent offenders, including youth, then we can hopefully see some change.”
Also discussed during the meeting with cabinet ministers was the issue of illegal firearms, and Campbell is hoping Ottawa will tackle the flow of guns coming over the border.
“We seized nearly 700 illegal firearms in the city last year,” he said. “They are aware of that. We always wait and see what the legislation is, but I can tell you we at least feel like we were listened to today.”
Federal conservative leader Pierre Pollliervre is also calling for amendments to self-defence laws after a major spike in home invasions, which is also supported by the TPA president. While there is no timeline for when the legislation will be introduced, it is expected sometime this fall.
