Build more "basketball courts," more money to be used by social in-activists to help at-risk youth, more money for make work programs, etc. etc.A long hot summer lies ahead and the death toll from gun crime in Toronto's troubled neighbourhoods is already climbing. The shooting of Jordan Manners, 15, three weeks ago was followed by the killing of Jose Hierro-Saez, 19, shot while driving Saturday in the Jamestown area. He was the 16th person felled by bullets in Toronto this year.
Queen's Park has responded by appointing a two-person panel to study what might be done to ease youth violence. This is a worthwhile effort, although it is already clear there are no simple ways to prevent some young people from falling into a world of guns, gangs and drugs.
Former Ontario chief justice Roy McMurtry and former Liberal MPP Alvin Curling are to conduct the probe. Critics have attacked the panel, claiming with some validity that the roots of violence have already been extensively researched. Instead of yet another study panel, they want more action now, especially against poverty.
It would be unfair to claim nothing is being done in response to Toronto's recent spate of gun deaths. Police investigations are underway. Community leaders are united in their calls for justice. And the province is paying $4 million to keep schools in vulnerable communities open during the summer to provide recreation, training and jobs.
Still, the frustration of critics is understandable. There have already been at least 10 commissions, probes and official reports into race relations, violence and policing in Toronto or in Ontario. A cynic might say naming yet another panel to explore this territory has more to do with politics than a search for new information.
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