Saying âitâs time to get serious about fighting gun violence,â Premier Doug Ford has announced $25 million funding over four years to address gun crime and gang activity in Toronto.âNo more talk, no more grandstanding, itâs time for action,â Ford said at an announcement Thursday, flanked by Attorney General Caroline Mulroney and Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Michael Tibollo.Toronto police will receive $18 million of the announced funding. Ford would not say exactly how that money will be spent â it will be up to Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders, he said â but a news release said it would fund âdigital, investigative and analytical resources.ââWe have faith in consulting with the chief and letting them decide,â he said. âWe are going to hand over the money, they are going to be accountable, and they are going to be able to tell us: âThis is where we think the money should go.ââDuring the provincial campaign, Ford expressed his support for the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS), the now-defunct provincially funded police unit created in the wake of the 2005 âSummer of the Gun.â The unit attained notoriety for its high-rate of carding â stopping, questioning and documenting people not suspected of a crime â and was disbanded by Toronto police in 2017.But Ford said Thursday the money would not go toward TAVIS-style policing, saying there would be âno TAVIS, no carding.âRead more:Gun violence a âsignificant concernâ for Canadians, Bill Blair saysIs U.S.-style gun violence really ânewâ to Canada? Experts say our problems are not that differentAmid gun violence, stop-gap funding imposes constant turnover on gang-prevention programsâIâm from the old school, I love boots on the ground, I love having police in neighbourhoods, but again, thatâs not up to the ...
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