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David Miller's Vision

Toronto: Making a Safe City Safer

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Compared with other large cities in North America and around the world, Toronto is a very safe place to live.

While gun crime is declining, we all remain angered and disturbed by incidents of deadly gun violence. That’s why in David Miller’s vision of Toronto, there’s no place for gangs or guns - and all young people have positive alternatives and opportunities that give them hope for the future.

Under Mayor Miller’s leadership, Toronto has taken major steps toward making that vision a reality. In 2004, he launched the Mayor’s Community Safety Plan, which balances tougher law enforcement with an attack on the root causes of crime. By partnering with the police, local communities and other orders of government, this plan has yielded concrete achievements:
 
  • 450 more police officers on our streets.
  • A new focus on community policing to build trust and relationships with residents that mobilize the community to prevent and reduce crime.
  • A more diverse police force that reflects the changing face of Toronto.
  • A more aggressive approach to gun and gang violence.

Thanks to the hard work of the Toronto Police in the last year, several major gangs have been shut down and their leaders jailed.

The Mayor’s plan has created new opportunities for youth that give them positive choices and hope for the future. For example:
 
  • The City has identified 13 ‘priority neighbourhoods’ that have historically been known for high levels of poverty and low levels of services.
  • By building partnerships with business and labour, the Mayor has helped to give thousands of youth from vulnerable communities access to education, training, and apprenticeship opportunities.
  • The City has invested in new programs and recreation facilities in these priority communities.

Mayor David Miller’s vision of Toronto in 2010 is to make our safe city even safer.

To punish criminals and deter people from crime, Mayor Miller will:
 
  • Continue the successful Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy, which combines a focused crackdown on gangs with an emphasis on building strong community relationships to prevent crime.
  • Advocate no bail for anyone who commits a crime while in possession of a gun, whether the gun is used in the crime or not. Mayor Miller will press the federal government to enact this strong approach to guns, so that these criminals — and their guns — are not back on the streets on bail days later.
  • Call on the federal government to ban handguns and all semi-automatic weapons. Sadly, the recent events in Montréal remind us that we need tougher, stronger gun control laws. We also have to stop the guns that are coming across the border and we have to stop the flow right here. We cannot ignore the impact of guns on the street that were stolen from private collections or gun stores.
  • Fight to keep an effective gun registry. Notwithstanding its poor implementation, the large investment made in this initiative can finally pay off if the registry can help the police fight crime. The Toronto Police say they need accurate information about what firearms might be present when they respond to a call — and Mayor Miller agrees.

To ensure that young people have real opportunities, Mayor Miller will:
 
  • Invest $13 million in Toronto’s 13 priority neighbourhoods over the next four years. This investment will fund new recreation facilities such as playgrounds, parks, basketball courts, and other infrastructure improvements.
  • Continue to expand Toronto’s public-interest partnership for youth employment, which will encourage organizations to follow the city’s lead in hiring youth from at risk communities. Over the next four years, we will aim to create 2000 jobs a year for young people under this program.
  • Eliminate recreation user fees for children and youth in at-risk communities.
  • Create a centre of educational excellence that will use advanced teaching methods and technology to prepare young people for the job market. A unique, accelerated curriculum will be designed by a team of post-secondary instructors and business leaders. The Mayor will partner with the private sector, labour, colleges and universities, and community groups to establish a centre where youth will learn the critical skills they need.
  • Establish a "Youth for Toronto" partnership program that encourages young people to use their community service hours to give back to their community. The City will partner with school boards and community organizations to match young people to projects that benefit their community.
  • Establish a youth entrepreneurship program that will allow youth to run their own businesses, while teaching them valuable job skills. The City will partner with some of Toronto’s most successful entrepreneurs and have them act as mentors to the young people enrolled in this program.
  • Continue to expand the training, apprenticeship, and education opportunities for youth in the priority neighbourhoods.