More funding to combat gun violence in Ontario.
The federal government is providing the province with $54 million over the next three years on new initiatives and to expand existing ones.
Ontario’s Solicitor General Sylvia Jones says guns and gangs are not just a big-city issue.
“That’s why earlier this year we launched a comprehensive province-wide strategy to support the local fight against guns and gang violence. Our strategy includes four pillars, crime prevention, intervention, enforcement, and prosecution,” says Jones.others.
Attorney General Doug Downey says they’re standing up for law-abiding citizens.
“Our government’s message to the gang members and violent criminals across this province is clear. We’re coming for you. The violence must end now,” warns Downey.
Ontario is also dedicating additional funding to programs implemented earlier this year, including on a Provincial Gun and Gang Support Unit.
Federal Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair says also about eliminating and reducing fear in our communities.
“When people become afraid they don’t take the kids to the park, they don’t go shopping on Main street, they don’t engage with their neighbors, they don’t engage with public officials and they don’t cooperate in police investigations,” says Blair
According to the province, 54 per cent of firearm-related homicides in Ontario in 2016 were connected to gang activity.
