of indifference in this country to the death of the people of colour and in these
communities, but there's also a double
standard in the narrative about gun violence
depending on where it takes place
and who is affected by it.  When it happens
to others in certain pockets of Toronto
it's a tragedy visited upon those
who didn't deserve it.  When it happens to
us in these communities
it becomes our fault.  We start blaming the victims.
We get the "wrong place
wrong time"
narrative. One reason this double
standard is so easy to apply is that the
question of why of gun violence happens
so much in inner cities is brushed over or
ignored.  There are many factors the
effect of racism on individuals and
communities failed education systems
lack of meaningful engagement and spaces
inequities on all levels systemic errors
unaddressed mental health and well-being
high unemployment and no interruption of
the violent cycles which are happening
within the homes of our young people
and within our communities.  These are rarely discussed
and there is no connection that gun violence and these
conversations don't happen on a
national level about what's happening to
us.  Without that connection and with no
greater social ills to help explain it
it seems simply as a fault of the people
who live in these places and if they
have some defect in their family or in
their community it seems like it's us
that's broken and not the system that
we're housed in.  And because it's our fault
it doesn't warrant that conversation.  There
continues to be a devaluing of lives for
people of colour.
The recent gentleman that died, Kevin, who was
20 years old shot down
near Islington. The first thing that came out, "he was known to Police".
This continues to contribute to the
sporadic nature of gun control conversations itself.
Because gun control is only talked about on a higher level when multiple murders happen
or when it happens in places where they thought were safe, or
in richer neighbourhoods it's talked
about only a few times a year.   So if the
conversation was shifted to include the
tragedies of people in our communities;
if our lives were valued enough by media
as well as the Canadian conscience to
warrant that conversation, this would be
an ongoing debate. Our flags would remain
at half-mast and there would be so many
moments of silence it would disrupt
people's work day.  Okay?
like it will disrupt the normal routine that everyone seems to jump
right back into once one of us have
fallen and I want that disruption
because that disruption will cause some
actual actions and then those will be
taken to create some actual change and
it would do something to affect those
affected by the daily gun violence
attraction so the death of my brother
our brother because he was found and
that's the leader innocent lives are
cause for uprising the loss of innocence
of our children every time you're
subjected to this sort of horrific act
is a cause for an outcry we must use
this as a catalyst for something so I'm
no longer a skating politicians or
anyone else for their moments of silence
I don't even in their sentence I mean
everybody's to be preferred I mean our
voices to be louder and I need them to
break that silence that has affected our
communities and that's fear
thank you so much
space questions
and pull it it's 70 if it's real you
know talk about a lived experience of a
design so I think what's really powerful
about this discussion is the response
from what's happening in the discussion
in the planning of this meeting and
bringing people together and in thinking
about who can speak to these issues and
enough pentacle minutes waiting really
highlighted in this neighborhood
announcements if you want to be a member
yeah okay we'll do another black
community far
partnership community
Oh girls and taking pictures I don't
think but maybe your math lab might have
a piece
we call them I ready we can go now but
they can always do merchandise arias
priority we have strong strategy so I
like when I think about is that in order
for community so an area for SATA
interface or any of the medical
university in order to be considered at
risk or priority step into a passive
so retire so how we get things I think
needs me to understand that and it's a
previous tons of government all levels
of government or political stripes would
have had something like that and what
would have happened electors right they
would have had to continually disinvest
from us they would have had to tell us
you don't matter and that happened I
know before I got here right so
conversations like me and their destiny
continue to be important and I really
appreciate it so much just talk because
we think about often like the individual
way that is kind of Sigma affects us
right but also knowing that this has
never been a fall that I've never been
arguing but we're also we carry that
weight on our back right
so when conversations around violence
happen so I didn't actually myself think
about the individual act of violence
that gets the city rather because like I
said the prime minister's not coming to
our borders right the memorials on
backwards
but our memorials which have been going
on and on sometimes those happen because
our communities are what they think are
like to our our government so if divided
that I would consider it like something
housing or inadequate schools or parks
where kids don't feel like they can
think and I work with the program how
the West me whenever I did a worse
opportunity with the ball back some
accessibility conversations of violence
everywhere they play they come we don't
play outside know that that's - right so
if if we're work were before getting
housing to the point where we can't
repair it not even we need new housing
but we've let the product that we have
where they interested it's so poor that
we can't even repair to be that's right
so I think I think if we start our
conversation there we have a very
different conversation we have a very
good conversation there oh it's just
this one person or this this this
individual which I think it's raised
that we take care
we need to okay
first-time provincial minister comes to
a community wearing a bulletproof vest
that he'd never been to that has more
than justice basically understand that
I'd like that Your Majesty but that also
tells him and situates and the Restless
never be that that's also notable for
investment for predicting about
structural reform or thinking about the
fact that we've had this conversation
five right after what we call it the
summer of the graphic which for many
musicals a year of violence right so the
many of those responses that came from
things like that or when device gets too
close to if we want to be very good at
the white areas of your leisure and
enjoyment like reached reader or or
Danforth or if you get too close to
being center that means that our
communities are going to get more money
by 200 in these offices 45 more cameras
and spots on their technology right so
those type of investments and like Tavis
which you can work with the other people
or communities like these habits or ten
years where these police action I'm sure
public where they just Brandon is not
questioning that tells you something
about whether you're sitting that's
right or your country but you might be
pushed to do because of the everyday
experience of so that's the things I
think about and how currently now the
current context after all of these
decades of things that we've been I
guess pushed to our to endure or to
lifting now it's a different attack
right so that we see how things work at
tort is a moment where City
as a protection of up looking different
right there's a lot of you there's 3d
boards there's a lot of candidates young
people like us that have decided to
throw their hat in the ring at that
exact moment we have a pretty good sense
in the election period
yeah we're just going to go to 25 and
all of the counselors that'll support
that motion are white and their
political dynasties and they tend to
serve in it so so what little control we
now have our communities look that's
there at City Hall it's very much under
attack I think how we do what we've
always been doing take care of each
other it becomes all the more all the
more important so so I think that's
that's important so I'll just continue
for a little bit so I've been I've been
thinking about how we really have
unconditional love for this place for
Toronto but they have achieved
recognition for us and sometimes that's
enough to halt this and it's starting by
I am guilty to of mistaking the chief
recognition for the real thing because
one might be 12 or 12 gets tested and
stretched we'll really there that's it
very often does I tell myself
Toronto's beautiful even when it's not
and maybe that same it's not operating
the same I saw this a pleasure use they
me it's been reading Hollow and empty
and I've been thinking about how we ride
so hard for this place when it stays
trying to keep beating us down all of us
down with us I usually work to reach the
Lord
a flat bit but I think the collective
response from this moment from our mayor
chief of police premier and Prime
Minister I'm just filled with rage so
I'm thinking to myself that my love for
Toronto is there
in response the highly publicized recent
events in our city mayor torn in chief
at least mark Saunders held a joint
press conference on July 4 and they
announced that they were calling their
gun violence reduction plan projects
became Chief Mark Saunders said the
toronto police forces plan included
among other things any more frontline
resources during certain days between
the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m.
when most of the gun violence takes
place across the city one of these
officers and black communities will just
make more violence a black officialize
communities and CBS they've always that
throttle police that their best
intelligence gathering to what has
always been alright they've always been
at their best in Sunday school as part
of you know carding never stop so now we
get like are we die and I wrote that
lease the number one line item in the
city's question is the meeting so this
happened in 2005 we had one of our
members of our community type event
public school a whole roots of violence
report the parties recommendations
holistic you know about
neglect about access to those things
about public transportation about race
grades in school
about four I have a header in there but
I know you guys know I know you know we
know how this place looked it supposed
to look like and when they're talking
about this building a billion dollar
Park downtown but we're tearing down the
houses in our community so to me that is
legitimate violence so I think I think
when we think about that and we think
the book that were on not even a half
attacker you know we are playing with
words that part is coming for us
and our communities in no uncertain
terms so the ways that we want that and
I've always said that Junaid refridge
always teaches me how to take care of
each other and my people at a community
that's gonna be even more so meetings
like this when we think about what these
duties are gonna do 7:00 p.m. to 3:00
a.m. it's already so I'm wondering I'm
wondering of different ways of how we
teach each other and I do have one I
remember I remember
on August 14 15 years ago
but there's something about the place
these structures have already invited
but there's ways in which people we've
been talking feel like hello take a
closer look but then we also make a
certain care for each other so I hold on
to that right click bleak time and ugly
condition so I'm thinking about that
we'll begin until you think about
economic depressions we can have
conversations thank you said after all
of our your reflections and leaving us
with a little bit of hope and
possibility and reminded us of the great
things that we do here so up next we
have another amazing speakers
- Masha so I'm sure restaurant eat your
back week but I also feel part of the
community so what I thought to work
there beginning I come you know as a
mother as a friend I see all the folks
come through our doors you need
important and valuable people but I know
that when a lot of our clients the
mini-mart doors they're coming from
places where maybe they're not they
don't get the treatment that they
deserve
because there let thinner thought of as
lesser than because maybe our new
program that's country new world maybe
they have a different skin color they
all speak English as well as others so I
do know that there is differential
treatment of default in our society so
I'm going to get to what I was asked to
talk about mental health but why send me
notes about what mental health
criminalization social and economic
determinants of health also but have
raised and generally intersect with
these issues so you talk a little bit
way up here of mental health system talk
a bit about policing and undergo such a
personal story that I met with this
issue so yeah so the first let's talk
about how the city keeps responses
violence you know we've heard of an
announcement of investments of million
dollars to address quite compact on
violence when i was actu stated so 7
point 1 million of this is for
enforcement and surveillance only what a
million of that will go to community
initiatives
then the army provincial government
announced a major investment of 1.9
billion billion for mental health and
addictions the federal government will
add to that making it a total of three
point eight nine billion with most of it
to deal with police and other responders
deal with people experiencing mental
health
so now but what the needs of the mental
health for mental health services
we've got about 12,000 children and
youth in Ontario waiting for surfaces
the wait time is over a year for most
apiece and if we don't address these
issues we know that later
they will lead to other issues that are
probably physical again we see this
every day with people coming into our
Center with diabetes high blood pressure
and a lot of it was caused by stress
stress that was worsened by things like
living in inadequate housing conditions
not even having access to housing
inadequate jobs having to work many many
jobs to make a living and not having
enough time for their children who may
be experiencing into health and
addictions now hearing that remember
that most of the investments that the
government is making to mental health is
not into community programs and
prevention programs it's to policing
surveillance and enforcement okay so
next I just want to talk I'm gonna just
go over to stuff I'm going to talk about
part the police response to people who
are dealing with financial distress it's
not mental health mental distress
Wow there we know that we have a large
never gonna dance with resulting in
deaths what a violation of result in
deaths
we know that the recent statistic was at
673 percent of those had a mental health
or addictions condition condition some
of them were actually killed by police
fire police gun violence I want to I
want to read the names of some that you
might have heard her
so since 1980 these were all families
have lost loved ones in mental health
distress killed mental distress killed
by Toronto police officers in memory of
those individuals that I have respect
for their families it's important that
we don't forget their names or when we
lost them most recently and having it to
Michael have done we are 13 Douglas
virally the vaccine Oh Ryan Christopher
B all of us Tony Andre and then you
Wayne Williams and
Lester Donelson now most of these
individuals were male but a lot of them
were people of color mostly black males
and I wanted to talk about you know
reality aren't dirty and of this uniform
on April 7 1985 and he was shot and
killed by the police
on August 29 that was lieutenant no
Brielle was my nephew and reality it was
reality dealing with some internal
distress and his sister call the police
and this mark public needs to help them
get him to a hospital
we Anna was quiet young man who was very
bright and I remember her
when we all started expressing some
mental health issues it was after he was
in school and one of his teachers asked
him whining that grease in his hair was
he girl after that time you know you
know I started acting it out of it he
actually a pair of scissors to school
one day because he wanted to cut his
grades up and the forest you know what
happened he was caught with scissors and
he was suspended and this was in grade
seven actually that crack came up
investigation because of course this
would not be an innocent black man that
was killed
it had to be a criminal so in rate 70
when he was caught it's a pair of
scissors and in fact that and it
suspended through school that was what
define him so fast forward to 2010 when
we have sister Erin and Tom were worried
about his increased agitation because he
was apparently episodes all the police
said you know my brothers were in a
class and he's got mental health issues
get some help to get him to the hospital
about half an hour later they've
received a call that your brother is
dead and he doesn't send it for a
hospital and I will never forget the day
that we received the call that we almost
dead and again just because he was a
young man who was not able to control
some of his actions at the time his his
mother is disturbed many hours of
testimony where the current will
helpfully simply trained and received so
much training to revisit quests however
there this the officer of the shark
redoubt was protecting himself because
that is what they do they were trained
that when someone is a
the sharp weapon they do not consider if
they're meant received they protect
themselves in the public so his mother
and sister testified that even after
going to the hospital the police had
looked little too comfortable to offer
them any explanation or counseling there
his mom questioned whether the officer
had done anything at all to calm him her
son down before opening fire
she actually said I'm thinking we called
911 and we told them that he had mental
health issues but no one's smoking at
normal talked to him and when we got to
the hospital he was just a dead young
black man and they offered nothing
nothing families and communities are
dealing with this issue and there are
many innocent
that are left to deal with this on their
own the finding the best minister that
going to the inquests an inch of the
investigations does not help our
communities and our families I remember
one of the recommendations of the
inquest into this was that we should
collaborate with consumer-survivor
groups to identify gaps in community
supports their group management of
metric of issues of the community and we
should develop normal programs however
when we hear use especially the last few
months that have funding in the billions
of dollars the funding will go into
policing enforcement and surveillance I
think we all have to ask the question so
I'll end there is it like us to be able
to talk a little bit about this because
it is important that we have these
opportunities and I really for the
number of years that have worked lived
and worked in this community I go for it
on YouTube meetings like this I look at
these before almost coming out and I
wish they were given for you all in the
more credits and more support to do this
this kind of work it's not like what
athletes to our brothers our sisters our
sons our daughters you talk a lot about
our daughters because but we know
happens to some of our daughter in this
community and you have to work together
it's it's not right and you've got to
come together on those issues
so as the executive director of this
organization I take it personally but I
also have committed to that despite the
racism
yes I think you touched on something the
last speaker and it would be interesting
to hear the perspective from all who are
speaking you indicated there are things
that happen to our daughters and
oftentimes our daughters are excluded
from that public engagement so if
there's something specific to this area
to this committee that you feel that is
affecting our daughters I would like to
hear about that
sexual vitamin the world but we don't
know that what our young girls are
violated at our views that go the links
maybe because their lives are not they
don't have resources and they have to
make some difficult choices that really
affect their lives we don't talk about
it we have spaces to talk about it
we know that gender-based violence is a
big issue in this community you know
that poverty among women parenting is a
big issue there's so much there's so
much that we can say just after that one
of the things that we've seen and one of
the trends or one of the pieces that are
on the rise that we're finding we're
gonna women is the trafficking that's
happening and we don't always speak
about it because as of right now due to
a lot of the things that are happening
music videos it's almost become popular
it's because the
to make money the idea or the concept of
being that video vixen well they're also
being you know like raped or all these
other things are happening stuff on a
regular basis in terms for a little bit
of money and they are being exploited
that we don't completely speak about it
but it is definitely on the rise of it's
definitely affecting the young women in
our communities another thing that's
affecting our young women is so sad
cycles of violence that we speak about
and it's the domestic violence that is
happening in homes and then being
subjected to it so when the young women
are are seeing this and although it may
not be immediate there's a long lasting
effect and something that plays out for
them that they tended to feel that it's
okay for them to be treated that way and
then so it turns when they raise young
children or young men as well as young
females it almost becomes deformed so I
think those are two of the things that
are affecting our
we started that I was talking about so
many intersections of race and gender
and one of the issues in relation to
young women in our community always
think about things that karting right up
to here hunters you know stop enforcing
or particularly thinking about young
boys young black boys during that
monocular but this also happens to limit
the police have also been tracking a
storm a young girl sisters girlfriend's
mother's they do this they have programs
in our elementary schools so they have
programs there are many schools
attracting young girls getting
information on their families and their
brothers on people that they love so you
know the police are working in all of
these institutions you know what the
police do mainly they break down a
mother's doors they also scoop up
sisters is coupons so women are also
directly impacted through the confidence
of failing
I and we are developing a technique and
inclusion strategy so far the visions
work great stuff but the other part is
thinking about social response
I'm sorry
so as I was talking not to repeat myself
but I'm trying to see where how
healthcare and what your opinion is and
gentle we're a hospital like Humber
River can't be a party to to the
community in terms of addressing really
should both liver
okay I would say so not only in my
resident but I do currently work for the
city and one of the things that we are
working on is that violence prevention
fund or our a piece of that would be the
attacking of that violence interruption
and intervention I think we're a
hospital can in the fitted is when we're
looking at the treatment of people when
they get to the hospitals as well as
when ever there are you know there's a
gunshot victim that comes in to the ER
offering different supports well they're
there other than other the police kind
of staffing they represent if there's
something else that can be put into
place during that time as well as a
treatment of families when they walk
into those hospitals wondering what's
happening with their sisters brothers
nephews cousins just that overall
customer service and treating us like
human beings when we walk into a
hospital when we're already facing some
of the trauma from some that has been
affected by gun violence and I think
again with that sort of interrupt
response right now if you're using
what's been based out there the
hospitals are
assisting some of that work done so that
we can start cracking some yeah I think
I think we need to be very good as
critical as skeptical of equity and
diversity class generally right because
I think this gives us this perception
that things are changing right so one be
quick I know this is beautiful jobs
you've got me there work or what I what
I do not want is the window dressing to
change right so I've seen racializing
ever survive staff which usually is not
even racial or diverse so that might be
one step but also the idea of the
thinking that how you make up the idea
of what helped might be right -
reduction - so I've been an awkward when
we've had brothers community members
shot and the way they treat you is like
I would swear but my crap so if we're
thinking about violence as a as a public
health crisis that means that all of
those people that came in that hospital
family members cousins girlfriends
people on the street friends community
workers those are all your patients so
when you come in both are your babies
and with respect loving care yes right
but then but then this automaticity of
calling the police I know
and then everybody because I don't know
so I think I'm thinking about I'm even
just even living through those ones
again
and all those people's faces at
Sunnybrook
I've never that's what I think about
when I think about health care
institution many times people from this
community or to the hospital talk about
a single cell for example simple celery
disease that causes tremendous pain and
I know that I've heard stories of people
saying that I was not believed what I
said I was in pain I was told that I was
on drugs or I was mentally ill because
they didn't believed as a black person
most of them again Pamela fortunately
you know they're just assumptions made
by ugly people look and I think until we
can make your assumptions and those
stereotypes about certain groups of
people we have to stop it i've heard
it's personally i've seen with the lady
some of you the intake workers treats
women you know who are dressed
differently you know I ask them is this
okay if this one between your country
you know we've got a lot of work to do
I'm so sorry to say but please come into
this community and bring your colleagues
into this community so they can learn
from this community
thank you also we talked about the
hospital and we talked about mental
health and and black men as a community
frontline worker what I'm seeing in
terms of the use of drugs and and the
similarity of behavior of young men in
the psych ward and and and we need to
start talking about this in the
intervention prevention but in healthy
ways that don't further criminalized
these people because what's happening is
you're being surveillance by the police
in the parking instead of engaging the
people right
44 right now 47 very likely
like any effect
so when we call we got no protest from
our customers and all that is at City
Hall or something you know get like
fight for attention
but went down to 25 s affinities
already we like the order to the boards
and they're all hot summer to redistrict
their accordance with other words for
the trustee according to the 25 so even
now our TDS be like Warcraft either
cabin occur are going to be even more
difficult to service so I think Sam can
you just maybe clarify for everyone what
actually took place
not everybody is watching the news that
ability politically engaged Oh so in
this video we had like 40 more
counselors he's broken up across the
city
make sure to steal and we have like 44
counselors now 47 and a bunch of
counselors were either moving on or step
away and there was three new like words
people were saying I'm gonna do it I'm
gonna jump in so a process said you kind
of had like a waiting I'm making that
people that look like that that we might
actually give it back to or go talk to
you know move might be very happy not
bring a job where my changes and you
downtown we had labor activists
activists making a bunch of Buzzard
voice they heard barking said it's done
at the 47 not for 44 that we had said
we're just gonna go with 25 like and
that's a week and then he could tell us
so this is what real power to do but
it'll give consultation so that means
that at least 47 people in the city of
to 20
and most likely they're probably white
people
and
so yeah these are all different issues
that the disparity with who will get to
run for which less representation but I
think like what sense of earlier you
know like take for example our housing
being in a state of disrepair well that
was because in the nineties when my
parents decided to amount of eight so
make all of the municipalities for the
cities is one big city right the Greater
Toronto Area the housing that was once
run by the province was now offloaded
onto the state then the city didn't have
the funding that was necessary to
continue to fix repair and maintain that
housing so we still see that housing is
into disrepair because of this one major
political move so might have said we
have politicians we passed their
opposite book with petitions still be
time to just show up so
what's happening we existed a wonder
Samantha come they come to the events
and take picture money but they we learn
to exist and get by but what happens to
our community we feel the real effects
of housing far apart we see our schools
for the part because of the same the
city this means the boundary will have
to get expanded for our schools so it
means less people taking care of our
schools less people
so does that mean that there's gonna be
more
possibly happen to like north and south
south part will be downtown core so
those tools will likely be stronger than
the smoothness of our square
in Canada
hi 24 years messaging in our country you
know then tablet no tablet no disease
you see because worse food
can we get everything you send you very
much and so a fun language
we don't even in this community the cost
of food is so much to access but in our
lovely grocery stores the cost of
healthy food is so expensive more
expensive than anywhere else in the city
they want to keep us dependent on the
medicine and the formula but these
things are locked up
you know where you know you have healthy
lifestyle like healthy food access to
healthy food places like parks where you
can walk community where we keep safe
then you can meet our but also because
there's nothing growing up being made to
feel like they are not worth anything
we need our children in schools talk
about the school of the buildings but we
also need teachers and educators
everyone who interacts with children to
treat them fairly so that they don't
grow up be angry and and you know
thinking that they're they're not worth
anything that's what bothers a lot of
our disruption within our communities we
integrations like this work look around
you know we have people from every
country speaking different languages we
come together and we have conversations
we have respectful learning interactions
right closer into my please check with
me because I don't know indicator
indicator because what you said was so
awesome but I don't know if it got
picked up on camera
my god
we have to push we're seeing more of our
faces this election coming into the
table saw that the last election the
engagement is there people are taking
this what are other meals I've touched
on in the role of me and how they
portray our
communities to portray or challenges
mental health is how being a young
person interesting to see indeed good
news to be missed out for seven of what
are the strategies how can we use the
media to our advantage of the strategies
yes I can speak out loud closer
police also support each other like
fathers and brothers whoever that was in
part but I've been working to end well
on our forms of care so they start
talking about our young people like
young people even if they fall to their
- no matter what kind of right
we care for each other
so we need representation and with that
we need to inspire you to get involved
you know here is what we need some young
people
let's go
listen is really represent so already
okay so when you go to the dish and I
meet up story from streets and we do the
same things just from different
perspective you know this I'm sorry
o'clock so far but I want to say this
I'm from the US I'm here
like I said you might like me
I'm gonna say person what uh I was able
to no respect for watching we gotta talk
we gotta go out there and reach out to
these men without us we asked you gotta
say cheese we've gotta take it back we
can't rely on the government campus that
we need several representation thank you
I believe I think the local solution to
our problems and I would like to say
that future not--you commodity
organizations representatives you know
people who work in is giving it work in
this community because many of you do
unpaid work and you're always here
helping us out but let's get together
instead of competing for the the little
resources that are coming our way
let's get together and come up with the
right solutions for our community
because it's us
no one cares other than us who live here
we come here we get invested so we
cannot leave take some time to the next
each other before you be so we value
that community comes together and speaks
about issues that the difference in
speaking is one thing the other thing is
to act on these things I think but I
probably ask the right question where do
we go from here what can we do next what
do we do now the gentleman mentioned the
attend he is running from there my name
is delaminate I also have money from
there and this is not here to promote me
or anything but because the gentleman
rates it I understand the bank buys also
running for councillor in this ward
and then he had mr. burrows who spoke he
too is running he's running for
councillor in this area
so both Tiffany and butterfly spank will
be on your ballot and you have the woman
who spoke over there her name is Maura
so when you're asked what can you do you
can actually go out and vote oftentimes
they say that we don't vote and when I
granted 2014 know if you don't remember
that I read 2014 from there as well it's
moving from the public debates I would
go find that they were only trying to
make sure the media knows if there's
only three people running under really
65 the reality is don't believe
everything you see in the media take
your own initiative to look into things
to make sure that you have effect and
that something's not crazy idea in your
mind as to what you should believe of my
visions except find out they're no
longer drinking the kool-aid it's time
out that we take initiative to ensure
that we have the ability to live and
thrive from make sure that you tell your
mayor your cousin people across the
other side of the sea join them
it's not limited to one area at the
entire city know that my name is on your
about women in the streets for a long
time and so have you
we're tired of breaking our backs we're
tired of fighting and having protests
and valleys and running down the street
and blocking up all kinds of things it's
time now to put people like us in
positions of power where we can create
policies to ensure Norma your life your
life you
okay they do that people who look like
that who will keep them in fines and the
decision-making table so that what we
asked we're not necessarily asking for
my welcome it
we're asking you for your time your
effort forward your passions and
everything to get butterflies name out
there to community to get whistle arose
being out there to compete to get not
even far together like a man coming out
there to the public to get the other
name out there to the public to get the
estate eligible there are many
candidates of cover missus were all
coming together we make
51% of the population in the City of
Toronto so why are we don't I don't
represent it ask yourselves back
we can't take what they're giving us no
longer folks let's get active let's get
real
so all work is we close the gaps so that
we all can take decisions in terms of
what we can do involve it these type of
events are important where we get
together and discuss share and learn
from each other for the first word in
Community Safety is community and what's
going on here you just get to do it more
and more and more it's not really not
politicians the first word in committee
to say is take responsibility for your
community and don't leave it for others
to do it for you do in terms of what can
you do moving forward there's a person
that I've met recently
you came up with Jenna spending 32 years
a judge was a notorious again leader in
the City of Toronto when he got arrested
and it only took him down it was 30
other people from his gang that went
with me his name is Ricky actress he
just wrote a book called dirty tricks
again you know always prided himself on
being able to outsmart the police did a
very good job but dividend asked him
straight up as the Ricky was there a
time in your life he's a natural-born
right
was there time in your life that you
didn't that you have changed it it could
have been switched that he didn't go
down this path of being a gang leader
City of Toronto editorial can't be there
he said if you think about it the answer
immediately he said yes and that was a
Bryant he said Louie
when I was a young teenager if there was
somebody close to me that said Ricky
look I'm not gonna do that this is what
you must do if there's somebody that
influenced him as an early teenager in a
positive way that he respected and
valued his life would have been
different but not only his life but the
life of all the people he hurt as gender
and all the soda people that was part of
his game so I reflect back over work is
about early intervention we don't want
to get to the point where somebody has
picked up about or Germany Canada and I
reflected back at the fact that all
these shootings that have taken place in
the City of Toronto
even if instead to shoot it there was a
point where somebody had dumped
something different whether it was
institutional whether it was police was
observers providers whether it was
friends that could have been prevented I
don't have a crystal ball to give to you
to tell you where are those early
intervention points where you can change
somebody's life
conjecture II well what I can't see is
that we've got to look at ourselves now
when I talk about taking the community
back when I thought of taking the
streets back but to take our children
back we have to take our children back
and not to talk about biological
children we have to clear and allow the
children Ricky in his early teens said
his life could have been changed if
there was somebody strong and firm
around him that directed it correctly
and a lot of the young people that we
work with on the streets of Toronto
there's a gap that's there for them
there were a lot of services with lots
of organisation of a lot of programs for
the population that we need to reach out
to attach we're not able to do it some
people are let's check ourselves
please the first way to community stated
is community be strong scent talk and
don't be afraid
you
by by violence by structural violence or
violence
we are near to each other like that says
whatever lockout or anytime experienced
during elections right there was a lot
of talk about our presentation and of
course representation matters but the
elections are coming and we're still
gonna be here on the front lines this
work still needs to happen and we're
still gonna be fighting and we're still
gonna be suffering or still going to be
pushing forward so we invite you to keep
pushing with us on the ground locally by
here in the image community we imagine
to become members butterfly that we meet
every first and third Wednesday first
when they is like this we have big open
meetings and tough what issues going on
to talk what difference would made us we
work on the 1530s campaign we're just
not going to be pushing back against the
Changez there's where's a a outrage
tomorrow at Lawrence West station
between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. - in the
Lawrence area to deliver a petition to
their local PC the local MP in that area
our embassy serving only one by a
hundred votes so we need to really pull
rolls
MVP's accountable so they could go in
and tell forward we don't want to make
Toronto journey to 25 counselor because
letters could be a we know
representation so correct go there but
RJ path membership electrons in our
hands outwards so what you get those
tokens but also over on the ground talk
about the local issues that impact a
community not just our community with
our movement to run our global movement
that affects poverty race gender
violence all of these things we're not
alone in this and us everyone exposed
something a little bit different but at
all
our stories connected in subway and
we're here to keep talking and keep
those conversations forward so please
join us so thank you again for coming so
the next would be the first shift and
the special thank yous there's two
special things there are special things
to the movements locally as well as a
model of the city I flared love island
I got a wife
party
all right and residents the residents
who do this work in their sleep is our
breath and everything they do
you
